Love Game
by HellPhoenix
Summary: Ray, Max, Tyson and Tala all like the same person. And to avoid ruining their friendship over it, they develop a game, with their crush as the prize. But what happens when the rules are broken? Yaoi.
1. Wicked games

"That's sick."

"Oh, come on! It the only way to decide."

"Do you really think Kai will be okay with being treated as a prize? I'm telling you, I refuse to be a part of this."

"Kai will never know. No one will. Just the four of us."

Tala sighed. "Okay. I'll think about it. But just so you know, I don't like doing this."

"It'll be fun!" Tyson grinned. "Oh, Ray and Max will be here any minute. Did I mention they both thought it was a brilliant idea?"

"Yes, Tyson, you did," the redhead sighed again as he laid back on the couch in Tyson's bedroom. He hadn't liked being here from the very beginning, and much less now that he knew why the younger boy had asked him over. To turn his best friend into a prize in a stupid love game… How could the others possibly think it was a good idea?

"Hey!" Max said as the door burst open and he and Ray came running in. "So? Did he agree to it?"

"I said I'd think about it," Tala snapped. "But only because Tyson wouldn't back off. I think this is rather unfair to Kai."

"Oh, don't be so boring," Ray said as he sat down next to Tala, leaning his head on the redhead's shoulder, playing with the blood-coloured hair. "It's not like we'll force Kai into anything he doesn't want to. After all, he is the one to pick the winner."

"Yeah, without knowing it!" Tala stood up quickly when he heard the flirting tone in Ray's voice. He was sure that Ray didn't even like Kai, that he just wanted a boyfriend, no matter who it was. "You guys are talking about him as if he's a possession, not a human being."

Max tilted his head, looking innocently at the oldest of the four boys. "It's not like we're doing anything wrong. The one Kai falls in love with, gets him. It's that simple."

"Yeah," Tyson agreed. "Except that we have rules. You know, to make sure this doesn't ruin our friendship."

Tala sighed loudly. "Okay, so let's hear the rules of this sick game."

Tyson hesitated for a second. "Yeah, well… We'll all start off the way we are now. From Kai's point of view, a handful of highly annoying friends. So, this is kinda stage 1. We're allowed to pay him small compliments every once in a while, but that's it. No flirting, no physical contact. And if he responds positively to the compliments, instead of telling us to go to hell, as he usually does, we can move on to stage two…"

Tala became more doubtful the more Tyson talked, but he was well aware that the three younger boys would never leave him alone if he didn't agree to this stupid, stupid plan.

"Fine," he mumbled, as Tyson finished off with how kissing was not allowed, unless it was Kai who kissed one of them, in which case, the game would practically be won already. "I'll do it," he added when the three friends didn't seem to understand what he meant.

"Great," Tyson grinned. "And remember, none of us are allowed to be alone with him until we reach stage 5."

"Then how the hell are you expecting us to level up in this stupid game of yours?" Tala hissed.

"You'll have to do that around other people. Everyone's going to be at Hilary's place tonight. That's our first chance."

"Fine," Tala sighed. "But can you please stop talking about it as if we're doing this together? I may hate doing it, but if I have to play this game, I'm going to crush you."

---

"Why don't you just tell him you're not interested?"

Kai scowled at the girl who sat next to him. "I can't."

"Why?" Mariah demanded to know. "If you're not interested, you should tell him, so that he can move on."

"It's complicated, okay?" the boy mumbled. "Can you please leave me alone now?"

"The only reason you can possibly have for not telling him you're not interested, is because of the fact that you _are_." With that, the rose haired girl got up and left the room.

---

Hilary stared at Mariah when she was done talking.

"You have to be kidding me," she said tonelessly. How could that be true? Why would _he_ of all people…

Mariah just shook her head.

"Oh my God," Hilary mumbled. "What's Kai going to do about it?"

"I don't know." Mariah sighed, shaking her head again. "I said that he should tell him he's not interested, but… he refused. I think he might feel the same way."

Hilary frowned. "Why do boys have to be so fucking complicated?"

---

It was a cold night in mid-January, but the small apartment was unbearably hot from all the teenagers gathered there. Tala looked around in the room. They were all gathered like this just a few times every year, before returning to their own countries, families and friends, and every time, Tala wondered why there were so few girls among them. There was Mariah, former White Tiger X, from a small village in China. Salima, Ming-Ming, Julia, Mathilda, Emily, Queen and Mariam were all former beybladers as well. And then, of course, there was Hilary, who had stuck by Tyson's team for years… until beyblading suddenly wasn't that big anymore. It was weird thinking about how it had only been two years since the BBA closed, and it suddenly wasn't possible to get new parts anymore. It had been a hard hit to take. Beyblading was the only thing that had kept them coming together, even though they lived in completely different countries. Somehow, though, they managed to all come to Japan once a year, and just hang out for a few days, like nothing had ever happened.

Now, here they were, more than forty teenagers, and Tala wondered again why only nine of them were girls. Had the beyblading environment really been that masochistic?

Then his eyes found what they had been searching for, and all other thoughts vanished as he walked over to the only other teen who wasn't talking to anyone.

"Leave me alone, Tala," Kai groaned, without even opening his closed eyes. Tala should probably be freaked out about how Kai knew it was him, but he had gotten used to the creepiness of the younger teen.

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" he replied. "After all, we're friends."

Kai opened one auburn eye to examine the redhead. "Whatever," he finally mumbled, and Tala sat down on the couch next to him, knowing Kai well enough to know that a "whatever" meant a lot more than whatever.

"You look good tonight."

Kai gave him an unimpressed glance. "Max said the same thing a while ago."

Tala knew perfectly well that with that sentence, Kai meant to end the conversation. But he couldn't just leave it like this. For once, when he said something, Kai hadn't told him to fuck off or go to hell. This was a huge improvement, and it was not going to be for nothing. He had to take it a little longer. He had to get to stage 2 in the game.

"Did you dye your hair?"

A short smile played on Kai's lips. "You can tell?" When Tala nodded, the younger boy's smile widened slightly. "It's a little darker than before. It's not too much, is it?"

"Not at all," Tala replied, shaking his head to illustrate his words. "I think it's perfect. Suits your personality." Kai laughed slightly at the joke.

Suddenly Tala noticed that his arm was almost touching Kai's, and he hurried to move a little further away. Damn it. How the hell was he supposed to avoid physical contact, when the room was so small that there was barely enough room for all of them?

In the middle of the crowd, he could see Ray flirting with Mystel, and shook his head forcefully. He didn't understand why the neko-jin absolutely wanted Kai, when he could have any other guy.

"What are you guys up to?" Kai suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" Tala replied, giving Kai a confused glance.

"Firstly; _You_ never give anyone compliments. Never. Secondly; Max always seems to be too scared to even talk to me, much less give me a compliment. Thirdly; Tyson has been sending me weird glances all night. And fourthly; I happen to know that both you and Max were at Tyson's place earlier today. So I want to know exactly what it is you're up to."

Tala stayed silent for a few seconds, not knowing what to say.

"Well, then," the dual-haired teen continued. "If you're not going to tell me the truth, then I don't see any point in even talking to you." He got up, walking towards the door, leaving Tala confused in the corner of the room. It didn't take long before he decided to follow the other boy, though, and he hastily made his way through the crowded room, heading towards the door.

He caught up with Kai so fast that he didn't even have to open the door. He just walked out, right after the slightly taller boy.

"Kai," he said quietly, and the other teen turned around.

"What?" he said tonelessly. Tala took a deep breath. It was going to take everything he had to lie to Kai.

"I don't know about Tyson or Max, but I, myself, am not up to _anything_. You're my best friend, Kai. I'd never hide anything from you."

Kai gazed emptily at him. "Whatever."

"Wanna go and get drunk?" Kai didn't even have to answer. It would just be another "whatever", which in this case, Tala knew would mean something like "absolutely".

As they walked out of the apartment building, Tala thought about how it hadn't even been one day, and he was already breaking the rules. Then he smelled the sweet scent of his crush, and everything was forgotten.

* * *

Another beyblade fanfic! And Kai is in it! Well, that's no surprise, is it? So, who is Kai going to get paired up with in the end? Tyson, Max, Ray or Tala? Or maybe an outsider, someone who's not part of the game? If you want to know, you'll have to read.

I'll update after five reviews. So please, please, please review. With sugar and candy on top. Or else, I'm not updating. -Evil laugh-


	2. Secrets

**A/n: **I finally got my five reviews! I've had the chapter ready for days, I was just waiting for you guys to stop being so lazy about the reviews :3 This chapter is dedicated to **ILoveKaiHiwatari** for providing me with the fifth review. Enjoy!

* * *

The next morning, Tala awoke from a soft melody seeping into the cold air. Trying his best to ignore the goose bumps appearing on his naked body, he opened two aqua eyes, searching for the source of the music. He soon realized that the piano music came from the little, black cell phone lying on the bedside table, and he yawned as he reached out to pick it up.

"Hello?" he muttered as he held the little piece of technology to his ear.

"Hey, Tala," a voice greeted. "Bryan here," he added when the redhead stayed silent.

"Yeah…" Tala let the word fade out as he felt the veins pulsating in his forehead, as he was quickly developing a terrible headache.

"I saw you leave with Kai last night," the other teen continued. Tala nodded slightly, even though he knew Bryan couldn't see it. He only had a few vague memories of the previous night, after he and Kai had left Hilary's apartment. He silently cursed himself for causing himself this horrifying hangover.

"If you don't mind, Bryan, could you not mention that to Tyson, Max and Ray? They'd just think that something happened."

"Sure, I won't say anything. I wouldn't want to bring those three on my worst enemy." Bryan laughed shortly, and Tala just groaned at the still growing headache. "So, did something happen?"

"Of course not," the redhead mumbled, his cheeks turning slightly red. He sometimes regretted having told Bryan about his feelings for Kai. But then again, Bryan was the only one he could have a reasonable conversation with about the topic, as anyone else would be too shocked to say a word once they found out that the pale teenager was gay.

When Bryan remained silent, Tala sighed and continued, "You know I could never manage to tell him… Not even if I was drunk and didn't know what I was doing."

"I know," the other boy said. "But you never know. I mean, while Tyson was looking desperately for his crush at Hilary's place, Kai could have confessed his feelings for you, and he might just have ended up in your bed."

"Oh, very funny," Tala mumbled, annoyed by the teasing tone in Bryan's voice. Then there was complete silence between the two for a while.

"Bryan…" Tala hesitated for a moment, but figured that now that he had started it, he had to finish, or Bryan would never back off. "If you really loved someone, and you knew that every second you spent with them could be your last chance of getting them to like you… If you knew that your friends liked the same person as yourself… How far would you go just to get them to yourself?"

Bryan sighed heavily. "Tala," he mumbled. "Just what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

"Nothing!" Tala hurried to say. "It's nothing, really. I was just thinking, if Kai actually does like one of us – me, Ray, Tyson and Max, I mean… What are the chances it's me?"

"You know, what you should worry about even more, is how someone can get into your apartment without you noticing."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Tala hissed. He was so pissed of by the way that Bryan never said exactly what he meant, that he almost forgot the headache. Until he saw the teenager standing in the doorway.

"Seriously, if this headache hadn't been so fucking troubling, I would've murdered you by now," he muttered, causing Bryan to laugh as he seated himself in a chair.

"We're going back to Russia soon," Tala mumbled into his pillow. "We're leaving, and Kai isn't coming with us this time."

"You're not planning on going back, are you?"

Tala shook his head, and that was all of an answer Bryan needed.

"Then I'm not going either."

When the redhead gave him a shocked glance, he laughed and continued. "This is Kai Hiwatari we're talking about. I wouldn't want to have you suicidal when he rejects you – and I can assure you that it's going to happen, whether he likes you or not."

Tala smiled gratefully. "Thanks," he whispered.

"Nothing to thank for," Bryan replied, smiling back. "If he breaks your heart, I'll make sure he regrets it for the rest of his life. After all, you're my family."

The redhead gave another smile. He, Bryan and Spencer had always been like brothers. So had Kai, until he suddenly disappeared at the age of six. They had given up every hope of finding him again, when he suddenly appeared in their lives again. And despite the fact that Tala had considered the dual-haired teen a traitor, to have left them without even telling them he was going to leave, without leaving any trace of where he had gone, Tala had developed feelings for the younger boy. It had never crossed his mind that it was Boris who had sent is best friend away, all the way to Japan, where he had to take care of himself… No wonder he had turned out cold and self-centred. To be thrown out on the street at the age of six, was a fate even worse than having to live in the abbey.

Then, of course, the children from the abbey had been thrown out with no place to go, when Boris' plan of world domination failed, and he ran away. The only thing that kept Tala alive, was the fact that Kai was out there somewhere. He had lost him once already, and he wouldn't let almost ten years pass before he found his best friend again this time.

Two times, he had lost Kai, his best friend, the love of his life, his soul mate. And he was absolutely not going to let it happen again. He wouldn't let the dual-haired teen slip away again, no matter what the cost was.

"I don't want to lose him again either," Bryan finally mumbled. Tala gave him a half-confused glance. "It took us eight years to find him the first time. Two years the second time. We're family, you, me and Spencer. Always have been. But it was never complete without Kai."

---

Kai watched Ray, Max and Tyson playing cards. They were so good friends. They cared about each other, supported each other, and loved each other in a way that Kai could never understand. But still, he had never met someone as caring and supportive as Tala, Bryan and Spencer. They had grown up together, and considered themselves each other's family. He knew it, and he understood it. He remembered the life at the abbey, even though he had been nothing but a child when Boris sent him away. The only way of surviving there was to stick together, and help each other through the constant pain, anger and overwhelming sadness of which every day seemed to be created from. He had once been like them. He had trusted the others to get him through the painful life, like they trusted him to do the same for themselves.

But Kai was different now. His memories of the abbey were few and vague. He had grown up on the streets in Tokyo, where he had been forced to learn how to steal and fight. They had lived completely different lives. Tala and the others had survived together, because that was the only way to last more than a day. Kai had learned that he couldn't trust anyone, never depend on others. That was how he had been able to survive the rough lives on the streets. And that was why he distanced himself from everyone. Even the ones he called his best friends, he wouldn't let himself trust.

"Kai? What are you thinking about?" Tyson's voice ripped him out of the thoughts.

"Why would I tell you?" he replied tonelessly. "You know I don't trust anyone, especially not you."

Tyson gave him a sympathetic look. "I know how you feel," he said warmly.

"No, you don't," Kai whispered, so low that the other teen wouldn't hear it. "No one does."

---

Spencer put the cell phone back in his pocket, after reading the text message from Bryan. Apparently, they weren't going back to Russia.

To be quite honest, he was glad. They had all been shocked when Kai announced that he wasn't going back with them. They were family. How could he possibly choose the annoying Japanese over his family?

But there was another reason why he was so satisfied with not going home. A certain American with dyed blonde hair, who had caught Spencer's attention the second he laid eyes on him. A younger boy who had been a nice variety after the total failure that the relationship with Bryan ended up in. Family just didn't work out as lovers. He had experienced that the hard way, with both Bryan and Tala.

He didn't get why Tala thought it would be worth it to try dating Kai, but it didn't really matter. Tala had set his eyes on the younger male. Tala was family. And when Kai broke the redhead's heart, which was surely going to happen, Spencer and Bryan would have to be there to knock the shit out of him. Sure, Kai was family. But surely, he wasn't worth more than Tala. Kai had been away for ten years of their lives. If Spencer had to choose between the two, of course he would choose Tala. They were like brothers. They were so much more than Kai could ever be a part of, because he had been absent from their lives for so many years.

* * *

I'm feeling nice today, so let's say.. I'll update after 4 reviews this time. And please hurry, because I feel like updating again already! :3


	3. Broken Hearts

**A/n: **This chapter is dedicated to **marishka91**, who gave me the last review I "needed" to update. Wohoo! Lol, no, I just think the whole "dedicating chapters thing" is really fun :3

* * *

Tyson was wondering if the plane had left yet, when the doorbell suddenly rang. That made him frown. Who could it be? It wasn't like he was expecting someone, besides; everyone had plans for today, of course except for himself, Kai, Ray, Max, Kenny and Hilary.

"I'll get it," Max said as he walked past Kai – a little too close, in Tyson's opinion – and out of the living room. Tyson could hear the door open, and Max's surprised voice as he greeted whoever it was that had rung the doorbell, and asked them to come inside. Soon, the blonde walked back into the living room with Tala, Spencer and Bryan behind him.

"I thought you had gone back to Russia," Tyson commented tonelessly.

"We decided to stay here. At least for the rest of the summer," Tala replied, his words just as empty as Tyson's.

When he heard Tala's voice, Kai looked up from the book he was reading. Tyson cursed silently. There must have happened more between them at Hilary's party than he had thought.

"Why?" Ray asked, bringing Tyson's thoughts back to the conversation.

Tyson could see that Tala was hesitating. Surely, he wouldn't mind telling Ray, Max and himself why the Russians had decided to stay, but when Kai was around… that was completely different.

"Because of Kai," Bryan said. Five pairs of eyes stared at him. Tyson felt like screaming in panic. Kai actually _looked up_ from that goddamn book, in which he had been reading the entire day, just because he heard Tala's voice. Tala had apparently told his friends about his feelings for Kai, which had to mean he was confident about his relationship with Kai. And he didn't even react when Bryan said it out loud that they were staying because of Kai.

This wasn't good. He had meant to be able to keep an eye on Tala until he went back to Russia, and then there would only be himself, Ray and Max left. And now, they were staying. Certainly not good.

"Look, Kai is like family to us," Spencer said, breaking the silence. "We've lost him twice before, and we won't risk losing him again, just because he's not going back to Russia."

"I don't know how it is around here, but we don't abandon family," Tala added.

Max frowned. "How can you possibly say he's your family? You're not even related!"

Bryan sighed heavily, and was about to reply, but was interrupted by Kai. "You wouldn't understand," he said shortly. "You brats never had it as hard as them, and that's why you'll never understand the true meaning of the word family. And because I let Boris throw me out, neither will I."

---

King looked at his sister, who was sitting curled up on the couch, reading a book, which was really no different than usual. Again, he wondered why their parents had given them such strange names. King and Queen? Every time they introduced themselves, people thought they were some stuck-up, spoiled kids who had decided to find some equally stuck-up nicknames.

"What are you reading?" he asked. The usual question.

Queen looked up at him with her kind, dark eyes. "It's called Necropolis," she replied, before letting her eyes return to the white paper.

"I heard Tala is staying."

His sister nodded shortly. "Yeah. Like I care."

"I thought you liked him?"

"You don't seriously mean you haven't heard?" Queen asked as her eyes once more found their way up to face her brother's. The question he wanted to ask was written all over his face, and Queen soon sighed and answered it, "Tala's gay."

King stared at her like a brainless idiot. Tala was gay? He had never even thought of that as an option. Of course, it wasn't like he'd stop hanging out with Tala. Quite a lot of his friends were gay, actually. And so was he. But he had never seen the moody redhead as the kind to fall in love with another boy.

"Are you serious?" he asked quietly.

"Don't tell me you didn't know," Queen replied, shaking her head in disbelief. "He used to date Spencer."

"I thought that was Bryan?"

"Well, yeah, him too. But Tala was dating him first." When King didn't reply, but rather waited for her to tell more, Queen sighed heavily, before continuing, "Of course, that's a long time ago, about two years before we even knew they existed, but still. If he was sure that he was gay at the age of fourteen… well, it's pretty obvious that he still is, don't you think? Besides, haven't you seen the way he looks at Kai?"

"He… likes Kai?"

"I think so. But don't tell anyone. I mean, since he hasn't said anything, it's pretty obvious that he wants to keep it a secret."

King nodded as he watched his sister turn back to the book.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked. Queen nodded shortly, never taking her eyes from the book.

"He's just a guy, King," she said tonelessly. "I'll get over him."

"If you say so."

---

Ming-Ming silently cursed as she pulled the jacket tighter around her body. Why did it have to be so cold? It was in the middle of July, for god's sake!

She could hear Brooklyn laughing next to her, and instinctively reached out her arm to punch him.

"Ouch!" the ginger exclaimed. "What the fuck was that for?!"

"For laughing," Ming-Ming replied coldly. "When a woman is freezing, you offer her your coat. You don't burst out laughing."

Brooklyn cursed loudly. "You know, if I knew you were this picky about those little things, I never would have gone out with you in the first place."

"Well, isn't that just great," Ming-Ming mumbled, pulling the jacket even tighter around her. Through the corner of her eye, she could see Brooklyn's face lighting up in a smile as he quickly pulled his long, white coat off.

"Here," he said, handing it over to his girlfriend, who gratefully took it, and put it on over her own jacket.

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning closer to her boyfriend.

They walked in silence for a while, not really going anywhere, just enjoying being close to each other.

"It was too bad we couldn't hang out with everyone tonight," Brooklyn finally said. "You know, since most of them are leaving tomorrow. At least the ones who haven't left already."

"Bryan, Spencer and Tala didn't leave," Ming-Ming replied.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. I think it was something about Kai. You know, he said he wasn't going back because he got a job here. But you know them, they consider each other family. I guess they didn't want to leave without him."

---

Tala couldn't sleep. He had talked to the owner of the apartment, and he had agreed to rent it out until September. Bryan was sleeping on the couch, as the owner of the apartment he had rented had already rented it out to someone else from the day that Bryan was supposed to leave.

He had a weird feeling about Tyson. The younger male had seemed suspicious the entire time they were there, even though Tala hadn't even been close to Kai. He started thinking that maybe Tyson hadn't come up with that sick game to avoid ruining their friendship, but rather to be able to keep an eye on the others, and get control of the situation if he thought one of them got too close to Kai. Maybe his intention in forcing Tala into it had been to keep an eye on him until he went back to Russia.

But he wasn't going back. That part had obviously not gone according to Tyson's plans. He hadn't left, and he wasn't going to leave until he got Kai to come with him. He had lived without Kai for ten years, thinking that the younger boy had left on his own will. He didn't want to be without him again. Not ever.

He yawned as he got out of bed and walked into the living room. He just stood in the doorway for a while, watching Bryan sleep. He looked so peaceful. Like he didn't have any worries at all. But Tala knew better. What Bryan was more worried about than anything else, was Tala. Just because of Kai.

He finally went over, reaching out his hand to shake Bryan's shoulder.

"Tala? What's wrong?" the teenager asked tiredly as he opened his eyes and sat up in the couch, making room for the redhead to sit down.

"Couldn't sleep."

Bryan sighed. "This doesn't happen to have something to do with Kai?"

"Maybe," Tala whispered in reply as tears started welling up in his eyes.

The other Russian shook his head, sighing again. "You're such an idiot, Tala. You pretend to be an emotionless bastard, but in the end, that is what gets you hurt."

"I… know," the redhead sobbed, as the salt tears started to flow down his face. "I know. I… I really love him, Bryan. But he… would never like… someone like me."

"You idiot," Bryan muttered as he pulled his best friend into a hug. "You don't know that. Isn't that why you decided to stay? Because you want to get him to like you?"

"Y- yeah…"

"Then that's what you should do. Don't sit around and tell yourself he could never like you. That won't do any good at all. Okay?"

Tala nodded weakly, and Bryan smiled a sad smile as he dried the tears from the redhead's blue eyes.

"I'll go back to sleep," Tala mumbled as he released himself from Bryan's arms. He didn't bother waiting for the other teen to reply before he turned his back on him and walked back into the bedroom.

But he didn't go back to sleep. He couldn't. He just lay there, letting the tears flow, for hours and hours. It was just like Kai had said earlier that day. They had lived completely different lives. They were different. Tala had survived by trusting and relying on his friends. Kai had survived by trusting no one. They had to do it that way, or neither of them would have lasted more than a couple of days, maybe even less.

But why did it still have to be like that? Why couldn't they just leave the past behind, and start over again? Why couldn't things be the way they would have been, the way they _should_ have been, if only Boris hadn't sent Kai away from the abbey. All Tala wanted was for Kai to trust him, and maybe care about him. Why did that have to be so hard? It shouldn't have to. But a part of Kai seemed to refuse to realize that the time when he was unable to trust others was over. It seemed as if he was clinging to his past, afraid that if he let himself love someone, everything might fall apart.

He didn't fall to sleep until early in the morning, when the sun started to rise. It was a restless sleep, in which the only dreams he had were the kind where Kai was leaving him.

* * *

Two updates in one day! I feel so awesome! And you guys are really fast reviewers. o.O

Tala: _You made me a fucking crybaby!_

Nythera: _Oh, come on, Tala. We all know the cool I-don't-care-about-anything-guys are all really sensitive in the inside._

Tala: _I still hate you._

Nythera: _Whatever._

Let's say 5 reviews for the next one, then. I'm desperate for reviews! Seriously, I _need_ to know what you think about the story. So please review, everyone! And I will personally make Tala-cupcakes. :3


	4. Lies, secrets and unanswered questions

Four pairs of eyes looked up as the door opened. Tyson, Max, Kenny and Hilary. Kai continued staring into his book. It seemed that he had started reading just to distance himself from everyone.

"Hello there, handsome," Ray said, with the usual flirting tone in his voice, as he walked into the living room in Max's house, leaning in over Kai.

The dual haired male looked up, his eyes meeting Ray's orbs of liquid gold, which were only inches away from his own.

"Hi," he replied plainly. A smirk crossed Ray's face, making Max frown. The raven haired teen had gotten distastefully close to Kai over the past few days. The blonde couldn't keep himself from thinking that if Tala had been around, Kai would never have let Ray get as close to him as he was at the moment.

None of them had seen any of the Russians since they had announced that they were staying, which was rather strange, considering that the dual haired boy was the reason the three teenagers had decided to stay in Japan.

Max sighed, shaking his head slightly. He felt quite dejected, looking at the neko-jin that was curled up next to his crush on the couch. For some reason, he had gotten the feeling that Kai had already picked his winner, but was just waiting for the redhead to show up, so that he could announce it. And meanwhile, he was letting Ray play kitten.

"I'm outta here," Kai suddenly said, pushing Ray's caressing hands away.

"Where are you going?" Tyson asked, the panic clear in his voice.

"Out." The older male stood up, heading for the door, but Tyson was faster.

"Out where?" he demanded to know as he blocked the path between Kai and the door.

"Just out."

"I've got that already, but _where_?"

"That's none of your fucking business, Tyson!" Kai frowned, pushing the younger male aside, slamming the door behind him as he left.

---

Garland gave a quiet sigh, as he put the picture down. The picture that was standing by the fireplace in his apartment. The picture that he always stared hopelessly at, before sighing, forcing his thoughts elsewhere. The picture of Ray.

He was well aware that the kiss they had shared meant nothing, if not less than that. And everyone knew that the neko-jin was after Kai. But he just couldn't help himself. He had fallen for the younger boy, and there was nothing to do about it.

If only Kai would fall in love with someone else, then maybe Ray would realize how perfect he and Garland would be together. If he could only get someone to seduce Kai, before he fell under the spell of Ray's charm.

Hmm… Now that he was thinking about it, it really wasn't a bad idea. All he had to do was find someone who would be willing to date the dual haired Russian. Someone who didn't get freaked out about his menacing attitude and empty threats. Someone who was just as creepy himself.

---

The sound of a cell phone broke the embarrassing silence between the two teenagers. A hand reached out to pick the vibrating phone up from the table. A pair of aqua eyes swept over the display, before answering.

"Da?"

The person in the other end frowned. "Fucking caller ID, or do you always answer in Russian?"

Tala laughed, delighted at the sound of his crush's voice. "ID, Kai dear, ID. And I am so fucking glad it annoys you."

"Shut the fuck up," Kai growled, making another laugh emerge from Tala's lips. "The kids are getting annoying again. I'm coming over."

"Whatever. You know, once we leave, you can't just hide at my place every time Ray gets on your nerves."

Kai laughed. "Yeah, like you would ever leave without me."

A sad smile played on the redhead's lips. "We'll have to, eventually." Then there was silence between them. Tala wanted to speak, wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words.

"Not if I come with you," Kai finally said, softly.

Tala was sure that his heart stopped. "What?" he whispered.

"I'm not sure if I want to stay here anymore." Tala could imagine the look on Kai's face; a slight smile, as if he didn't know whether what he was saying was good or bad. "Maybe I'm coming back with you after all."

"That's… great," Tala smiled. Yes, of course he was happy about what Kai just had told him. It was the 'maybe' that made him linger. Did that mean that he liked one of the others? Was that the reason he had decided to stay from the beginning?

"Anyway, I'll be there in about five minutes. Later."

"Sure. See ya."

Tala hung up, not knowing at all what it was he was doing. Would this be breaking the rules? But then again, did he really care about the rules? After all, he had broken them within the first 24 hours. _If_ this was against the rules, then it wouldn't really matter. He had already broken them, so why not break them again?

"I guess that's my que to leave," Bryan said, standing up. Tala gave him a dazzled glance, and he continued, "That was Kai, right? I bet you two want to be alone."

"Yeah, sure."

Bryan nodded. "Well, in that case, I'm leaving. Don't do anything disgusting on my couch while I'm away." He laughed before leaving, closing the door behind him. Tala frowned slightly. The kind of thing that Bryan was thinking about would only happen in his wildest dreams. For all he knew, Kai wasn't even gay.

The door soon opened again, and Kai entered the room.

"Hi," he said as he sat down next to the redhead, who growled quietly.

"I'm not even going to ask how you got a key."

Kai grinned, knowing perfectly well that they were both thinking the exact same word. _Bryan._

"Do you know why Max, Ray and Tyson are all flirting with me?" the dual haired teen asked curiously.

Tala laughed. "I'm taking a wild stab here, guessing they like you. Well, maybe except for Ray. Ray is just into flirting."

"And what about you?" Kai asked, the highly familiar, curious slight-smile on his lips.

"What about me?"

"Don't you have someone you like?"

"He would never return my feelings."

"Ha!" Kai suddenly exclaimed, laughing outrageously. "I finally got you to admit it."

"Admit what?" Tala asked, not knowing what Kai could possibly mean.

"That you're gay." The redhead instantly blushed, making Kai grin widely. "And this guy you like… is he straight?"

"I don't know," Tala replied in a low voice. Kai didn't say anything. None of them did for a long time. Tala wasn't sure if he dared say any more, in case Kai would find out about his feelings. Of course, he wanted Kai to know, but he wanted to know if Kai returned his feelings first. That way it would be less embarrassing.

"Kai?" he finally said, receiving a 'hn?' from the dual haired male. "How would you react if a guy tried to kiss you?"

A sly grin appeared on Kai's lips. "Why don't you try me?"

Tala's heart beat rose slightly, and he felt butterflies appearing in his stomach. Would he really dare doing that? He wasn't allowed to. But heck, Tyson would never know. Besides, Kai was the one who had told him to do it. And hadn't he already decided that he didn't give a fuck about the rules?

He quickly shifted position so that he was sitting with one knee on each side of Kai's thighs, his left hand easily rested on Kai's shoulder, his right hand entwined in the dual haired male's hair. He was shocked at how easy it was. It felt so… natural.

Then he leaned down, his lips softly brushing against Kai's. He was prepared to take it slow, but the younger boy didn't seem to enjoy that thought. Before Tala knew what was happening, Kai's arms were locked around his back, their lips devouring each other in a hot kiss. Kai licked Tala's bottom lip, begging for entrance. Their tongues battled for dominance, a battle Kai won by far. The boy grinned as he easily lifted Tala up, pinning the redhead down on the couch. Tala didn't mind at all.

Kai kissed the redhead's neck, nibbling on the pale skin, making Tala moan in pleasure. The younger boy grinned at the sound, and kept nibbling on the redhead's neck, earning several small moans. Tala was clutching his fingertips into Kai's back, ecstatic about the light pain from the wounds on his neck. Another moan, a louder one, escaped his lips when Kai started licking the wounds he had created. It felt so damn good.

The redhead let out a disapproving groan when Kai stopped, sitting up straight, leaning slightly on Tala's waist.

"Is that enough to answer your question?" he asked teasingly.

"No," Tala growled. "More."

Kai just laughed, and was about to get off, when Tala grabbed his shirt, pulling the younger teen down to his own level again, kissing him forcefully. He could feel Kai smiling into the kiss, as he gave the younger boy's tongue permission to enter his mouth. Kai's tongue ran a path along the roof of Tala's mouth, making the redhead dizzy in an extremely blissful kind of way.

Tala's hands were on Kai's cheeks, entwined in his hair, around his neck, squeezing his shoulders, around his back, under his shirt. Kai didn't complain, letting the redhead pull the black T-shirt off, before quickly getting rid of Tala's own shirt as well.

Pale hands caressed the dual haired male's naked chest as their tongues kept battling for dominance in the passionate kiss. At that moment, both of them were on such a high that they had no idea where they were or what they were doing; everything was simply going by instinct. All Tala knew was that he never wanted this feeling to end. Not ever.

When his brain finally started working properly again, he was still lying on the couch, Kai on top of him. He noted to himself that the younger boy was a lot lighter than you'd assume by the looks of him.

"I take it you're gay as well," he said breathlessly. Kai gave a short laughter, sending a chill down the redhead's spine. How he loved that laughter.

"You think?"

Silence.

"So, when are you going to kiss him?"

"Huh?" Tala muttered, dazzled.

"That guy you like. This was just practice, right?"

The redhead forced a smile. "Yeah. Sure." He couldn't tell him. There was just… no way he would ever be able to. Not Kai. If Kai rejected him, then that would be the end of everything. He couldn't live without Kai…

"Is there really no way of getting you to tell me who he is?"

Tala looked up to see Kai getting up, walking over to where Tala had thrown his shirt on the floor. The younger boy's words startled him. Why would he want to know?

"Why do you ask?" he muttered.

"You know, so I can beat the crap out of him if he breaks your heart." Kai laughed at the redhead's shocked expression. "We're best friends, right? Family, isn't that what you always say?"

Tala smiled slightly. "Yeah. Friends. Family."

"I don't want to see you get hurt, Tala."

Sure. If someone was ever going to hurt him, Kai would be the one to do it.

* * *

Oh my god. I finally got something done. And this chapter actually contains something _interesting! _Yay me! -claps hands-

Anyway, you know the roll, please review, it keeps me motivated, and I'll update as soon as possible, blah, blah, blah... I have to say, though, the whole 'I'll update after -insert random number here- reviews'-thing is really effective. So let's say five reviews for the next one too, okay? *puppy eyes* I _know _I might seem a bit mean about this, but reviews actually is the only thing that keeps me motivated. And I want to be motivated, so please, you guys, keep me motivated!

Oh, and I almost forgot. I actually, seriously, baked Tala-cupcakes yesterday. Honestly! They all have little drawings of Tala on them. All hail my incredible pastry-skills! _So..._ -hands out cupcakes to the reviewers- I love you guys!


	5. Family

Bryan let his eyes gaze up at the sky. It looked as if it was going to start raining soon, but he couldn't go back to Tala's place, as he wouldn't want to disturb his best friend when he was with Kai. The chances of Kai returning the redhead's feelings were… relatively high. Tala was the only person that Kai seemed to find something else than annoying.

He was wondering whether or not to go visit Spencer, when his cell phone rang. Bryan crinkled his nose as his eyes read the words 'hidden ID' on the display, as if he did not understand the meaning of them. After a couple of seconds, though, he lifted the phone to his ear, curious about whom it might be.

"Hello?" he said plainly, hiding all signs of interest in who he was talking to.

"Hey, um, Garland here," a voice said, stuttering slightly, fumbling, trying to find the right words to say. "I was just wondering, if you're not busy, if you would mind meeting me."

"Um, sure," Bryan replied, a confused smile on his lips. "At your place…?"

"Yeah. You know where I live, right?"

"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Great. See ya later, then."

"Bye."

Bryan hung up, wondering what on earth Garland could want from him. He didn't exactly dislike the other male, but he wasn't especially fond of him, either. After all, this was the guy who had nearly killed Tala.

He knew, that was two years ago, and Garland had been brainwashed by Boris, but still, Bryan just couldn't seem to forgive the other boy. How could he ever fully forgive someone who had hurt his family?

---

Spencer, for his part, was lying on the couch, bored. He had a bad habit of just lying there without bothering to come up with anything to do. It annoyed him, really, but at the moment, he was too lazy to do anything about it. Like he always was at these times. So he just lay there, thinking about Tala's feelings for Kai. Then his thoughts wandered to his own crush.

He groaned loudly when the doorbell rang, before yelling a 'come in'. He was glad that the door didn't automatically lock itself (like Tala's did, for instance), because he really wasn't in the mood to walk all the way to the door and actually open it himself.

Max's face could soon be spotted in the doorway. "Hi," the small blonde greeted, and Spencer sat up in the couch. "Um, is Kai by any chance here?"

"No." Spencer frowned slightly. "Why do you ask?"

Max shrugged his shoulders. "It's nothing, really. He went out earlier and refused to tell us where he was going, and we haven't heard from him in hours, so we got a little worried. I thought he might be with you."

"Well, as you can see, he's not here," Spencer said, smiling slightly. "I'd say he's probably with Tala and Bryan, or just walking the streets alone. Either way, I'm sure he'll be just fine. Kai is able to take care of himself, you know."

"Yeah, I know," the younger boy replied, returning Spencer's smile. "Anyway, I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'll be leaving now."

"Wait," Spencer muttered, receiving a questioning glance from Max. "Your place is kinda far away from here, right?" A nod from Max. "Well, seeing as you're here in the first place, why don't you stay for a while? I don't believe we've gotten to know each other properly, even after all these years."

Max gave a sincere smile, one that sent a chill down the older male's spine.

"Thanks," he said, and Spencer had to concentrate to not just sit and stare at the younger blonde. If he didn't concentrate, then he'd probably just end up drooling all over the boy.

"My pleasure," he replied, still with a smile on his face. "If you don't mind me asking, is there anything between you and Kai?"

Max gave him a confused glance, before laughing, "Besides him finding me extremely annoying? I wouldn't say so. Why?"

"It's nothing really. It just seems that you care about him a lot." Spencer smiled apologetically, before once again acquiring a serious look on his face. "Besides… Tala really likes him. I wouldn't want him to get hurt."

The smaller blonde smiled sadly. "I knew, actually. That Tala likes him. If Kai will just let himself do it, I think he'll realize that he has feelings for Tala as well."

---

"What did you want?"

Bryan was standing in the entrance hall in Garland's house. Or rather, the house he shared with Brooklyn, Ming-Ming and Mystel. But none of the others seemed to be present at the moment.

The lilac-haired teenager didn't intend in going any further into the house, unless it was completely necessary. There wasn't any reason why Garland couldn't tell him what he wanted to say right here.

"Why don't you come inside?" the other male asked, making Bryan growl inaudibly.

"I don't want to," he said tonelessly, and Garland stared confused at him. The other teen then shook his head slightly, his eyes turned to the floor.

"I've already said that I'm sorry. What more can I do?"

"A million sorries won't make up for almost killing my brother."

Garland sighed. "Bryan," he said silently. Bryan rolled his eyes, sighing too, before he took his shoes off, walking past Garland into the house.

"So, what's this you wanted to see me about?" Bryan asked, once settled down in an armchair in the living room.

A slight blush appeared on Garland's cheeks, which was unusual for him. However, Bryan decided to overlook it, as the other male soon started talking. "You see, I kinda… like someone. But they've got feelings for someone else, and…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Bryan cut him off. "I don't understand a word you're saying. First thing first, who is this person you like?"

Garland looked to the ground, looking as if he wasn't going to say anything at all. "It's… it's Ray," he finally mumbled. Bryan nodded, motioning for the other to continue. "I don't know why, I mean, I hate everything about him, but… I can't help but love him. But he just wants Kai."

"Yeah, like that's a surprise," Bryan muttered. "And he doesn't even _like_ Kai. He just wants the guy because he can't have him."

"I know." Garland nodded. "So I was thinking, if Kai fell for someone else… Maybe Ray could open his eyes to me."

"Yeah, whatever. Look, I just don't understand where I fit into this."

Bryan received an empty look from Garland, and suddenly it hit him. The reason the other male had asked him to come here. His eyes widened in shock, and Bryan half-expected himself to burst out crying, even though he had been trained to undermine such instincts.

"You mean," he swallowed, "you want me to… to _seduce_ Kai?"

Garland nodded, making Bryan growl loudly. "What the fuck do you think you're saying? Tala would _die_ if I did something like that! And I am not fucking murdering my family!"

The grey-haired teenager had a confused look on his face. "What are you talking about? Please, Bryan, you're my only hope."

"What the fuck ever," Bryan muttered, noticing he had gotten up, and was already halfway out of the house. Garland followed him, and kept begging as the lilac slipped his shoes on. The last thing he said was once again a question for Bryan to explain what he had been talking about merely half a minute ago.

"I don't need to fucking explain myself to you," Bryan said firmly as he slammed the door shut.

---

Kai smiled vaguely to himself. He was at Kenny's place, in the room he was currently borrowing. For some reason or another, Max, whom he had previously lived with, had asked him to move out just a few days ago. Kai had never been one to ask questions, though, so he had just found another place to stay. It was just temporary, anyway. Why would he really care who owned the house he was living in?

He let his fingers caress his slightly swollen lips, still with a faint smile on them. He had wondered what Tala's lips would feel like, how the redhead's body would feel against his own.

Kai wasn't sure when those thoughts had started haunting his mind, and he just couldn't bring himself to understand why he wasn't purely disgusted with it. His head said that he should be. But it was his heart that had acted when he was with Tala. He knew it was supposed to be wrong, but… damn, it just felt so fucking good.

"What a cliché," he muttered to himself.

He wondered what this feeling was. He had never been one to care about what others thought. But now, he suddenly felt himself worry over what the redhead thought of him. _Why,_ he wondered, _do I suddenly care?_

It wasn't so suddenly, though. This strange feeling had developed over quite some time now. But it wasn't until just recently that he had felt an urge to see Tala every minute they were apart. Of course, it was only natural that he cared about his childhood friends. He remembered vaguely that back in the abbey, Bryan and Spencer had used to beat up whoever dared making fun of him (even though they were only kids at the time), while Tala always was right by his side to comfort him if anything happened. Like a family.

But this feeling… it was something more. Something strange and unknown, and somewhat blissful. He frowned as he lay back on the bed. He just couldn't figure out what it was, this strange sensation that made his stomach tighten, and that made his concentration vanish like a snowflake in an ocean. And to be quite honest, it annoyed the hell out of him.

He shifted position on the bed, now lying on his side, his eyes falling on a picture that stood on the bedside table; a picture of him and Tala. It had been taken about three months earlier, in the beginning of April, when he was back in Russia with Bryan, Spencer and Tala. It had been quite chilly outside, but the two boys in the picture were both wearing T-shirts. They were sitting with their backs leaned against a tree; Tala had his arms wrapped around Kai's waist, and Kai's head was lazily rested on the redhead's shoulder.

Kai still remembered the uneasy feeling when Tala's arms were suddenly placed around him. The three other boys had found it funny when he hopelessly tried to fight himself out of the redhead's grip. But Tala was too strong for him.

Then Bryan had started babbling about what a great picture it would be, and had instructed Kai in how to sit. They had ended up with him laying his head on Tala's shoulder, sitting slightly turned towards the other teen, and his eyes half-closed.

After the picture was taken, Kai had firmly removed Tala's hands, muttering swearwords in Russian as he did so.

"It did feel kind of nice, though," he whispered to himself as he slowly drifted to sleep. "Being in Tala's arms…"

* * *

I'm sorry I was so slow in updating. But you guys really surprised me with giving me all five of the reviews in one day. I had barely started the next chapter xD

Okay, so I guess it's kind of obvious by now who Kai will end up with. So I thought it would be safe to put that last part in this.. However, this does _not_ mean that the story is close to the end. I've got lots of drama all planned out. And it's going to take Kai long enough to figure out his feelings. But hey, can you blame him? He's never been in love in his entire life!

The part with Bryan and Garland is pretty much only there to show how much Bryan cares about Tala. Did you notice he pretty much always refers to Tala either as his family or as his brother? I'm just really fascinated by friends who are like that. You know, that are like family to each other. It's a promise on a much higher level than people who are actually related by blood. They can turn their backs and leave anytime they want, but they choose not to, and then they say they're family, which practically means they're bound to be there for each other. But because they want to, not because they have to.

Well, I'll stop babbling, and cut right to the point; please review! I'm going to make it five reviews for the next chapter as well, seeing as you guys are such awesome reviewers! Thank you! -blows kisses- Oh.. And I still have some Tala-cupcakes left. I made way too many xD -hands out cupcakes to everyone-


	6. Strange Feelings

Max was reluctant to giving up on Kai, even though he knew that the older boy was far out of his league. How long he had felt this way, he wasn't sure of. But sometimes it seemed that Kai was the only thing he had to hold onto in life. His other friends were always somewhat careless. The dual haired male sometimes seemed to be the only one who was serious about anything. Max needed someone like that in his life.

On the other hand, there actually _were_ at lot of guys who could take Kai's place, if it turned out to be necessary. Spencer was probably one of them. He was just like Kai in so many ways; it was always easy to see whether he was joking or not, he never gave a damn about what people thought of him, he was most likely to kill anyone who hurt his friends, and he guarded his heart carefully. There weren't many he had given permission to get to know him, and Max felt privileged to be one of those few humans.

Still, why couldn't he feel the same for Spencer that he did for Kai? Everything would have turned out better if Spencer had been the one he fell for in the first place.

"Max? Max, are you awake?" The young blonde had fallen asleep on the couch in Spencer's apartment, but at the moment, he was wide awake, lying with his eyes closed, thinking, not wanting the older boy to know he was awake.

When Spencer kept trying to 'wake him up', Max groaned, opening his eyes slightly. He instantly blushed tomato red. Spencer's face was only a couple of inches away from his own.

"W-what do you think you're doing?" he muttered, trying to push Spencer away. His efforts turned out to be a waste of time. The Russian was probably ten times stronger than him.

"I think I'm trying to wake you up," the taller blonde said, smiling. "It's getting late. You should get home."

"I don't want to," Max pouted. "It's too lonely being there on my own."

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Don't you live with your dad?"

"Yeah," Max nodded. "But he's visiting mom at the moment."

"Oh." The Russian stayed silent for a while, before, sheepishly, continuing, "So… would you maybe… like to stay here for the night?"

Max stared blankly at the older male. Yes, he wanted to stay. But he hadn't expected Spencer to give in to the vague suggestion so easily. And the way he said it, it sounded as if it was Spencer's own idea. Wait… was it?

"Um, of course," Max finally stuttered, receiving a smile from Spencer.

"You're going to kill your neck if you sleep on that couch tonight, though. You can take my bed."

"But… where are you going to sleep?" Max protested, but the Russian only laughed.

"I'll take the couch."

"But…"

Spencer shook his head gently. "No buts. You sleep in the bed, end of discussion."

"O-okay."

Max blushed, staring down at the floor. Why was he acting like this? Why was he such a brainless moron? He loved Kai, not Spencer! He didn't get butterflies in his stomach, and the Russian's presence did _not_ make him all dizzy and tingly. So just why did he act like an idiot who was head over heels in love?

"Hey, you wanna watch a movie?" Spencer's voice dragged him back to reality.

Max nodded. "Sure."

Soon, he found himself half asleep on the couch with Spencer's arm over his shoulders. But he was too tired to deny that it felt nice to be close to someone.

When the movie was over, Spencer carried the seventeen-year-old into the bedroom, and gently laid him down on the bed. What Max couldn't seem to recall afterwards, though, was how the Russian had ended up sleeping next to him in the same bed.

---

"Tyson?"

The blue-haired teen looked up at Hilary, who was sitting next to him, her chocolate brown eyes gazing out of the window.

"Yes?"

"Is it really true, that you like Kai?"

Tyson's eyes widened in surprise. "How… how did you know?"

A sad smile appeared on Hilary's lips. "So it's true, then." Tyson opened his mouth to say something, to protest, but he couldn't find the words to say. Instead, still not looking at him, Hilary continued. "I guess it was pretty obvious. You're always different around him. You smile more than usual, if that's even possible. It was nice seeing you that way. It's just… I wanted to be the one to make you smile, Tyson."

"Hilary…you…"

"I know it's stupid. But… I guess I really like you."

Tyson gave her an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry, Hil."

"Don't think about it. It's not your fault." Tears started emerging in the corners of Hilary's eyes, and before Tyson knew what was happening, he had pulled her into a tight hug.

"Just don't cry, okay?" he whispered. The brunette nodded into his chest, blinking the tears away.

---

Bryan stared at the male in front of him as he took a sip of his coffee. He was starting to wonder whether Kai ever blinked, or if the just blinked at the exact same times.

They were sitting in a café, drinking coffee in silence. Or at least they had been for the past few minutes, ever since Kai said _that_.

"So you say you made out with a guy, but you're not gay." Bryan lifted an eyebrow. "Exactly how does that make sense to you, Kai?"

"I've already told you that I have no fucking idea!" Kai muttered in reply. "I didn't know what I was doing; it was like it was another person controlling my body. No matter what I did, I just couldn't manage to pull back."

The lilac haired male nodded slightly, rolling his eyes when Kai looked down at his coffee for just a second.

"Who is this guy?" Bryan asked curiously. Kai blushed, staring at his hands for a while, before answering.

"Tala," he whispered, almost inaudibly.

Bryan's eyes widened slightly, and his jaw threatened to fall from the pure shock, but he kept the expressionless mask, as always. "You two weren't by any chance drunk?"

"No," the younger boy replied. "But it sure felt that way. Except that I didn't have a hangover afterwards, of course."

Bryan sighed. "Just… in the future, stay away from him if you're not serious about it."

A slight blush appeared on Kai's cheeks. "I'm sorry for bothering you with this. It's just strange."

"I understand," the older Russian said. "But remember this, Kai. If you ever hurt Tala, I am personally going to beat the crap out of you. I won't allow anyone to lay hands on my family."

* * *

I know, I know. Short, crappy chapter. _I'm sorry!_ But I've been really busy with school and everything, and... I just haven't had the time to write much. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! And I'll update as soon as possible. Of course, after my **5 reviews **;)


	7. Empty promises

Tala let his aqua eyes gaze emptily out of the window. Bryan had said he was going to meet a friend, but when Tala asked, the other Russian refused to tell him who it was. So now he sat there, not able to get his mind off what the hell Bryan was doing. What could be so important that the other male felt he had to hide it from Tala? They were family. You didn't hide stuff from your family.

The redhead reached for the picture that was lying on the table in front of him. It was of Bryan, Kai and himself, with Tala standing in the middle. It had been taken about a year ago, in the middle of the winter. The three boys were all wearing thick jackets, gloves and scarves. The only thing that was missing was hats. Tala had to laugh when he thought about it. He and Kai had refused wearing hats because it would mess up their hair, and both Bryan and Spencer had done the same, just to annoy the two Russians.

He had to admit, they almost seemed normal when he thought about it. Though they appeared harsher than other people, no one would think they had been trained to kill from their births, which was basically what had happened in the abbey. Biovolt wanted to take over the world, and to do that, they needed an army. Bryan, Spencer and Tala had been the strongest of the thousands of children.

It was hard to let all of that go. To keep living, pretending that nothing had ever happened. But they managed, somehow. Him and his family. Tala smiled to himself. Family. He had never thought he would be blessed with such a thing. It had taken him years to realize that he already had one. His three childhood friends. And as long as he had them, there was nothing in the world he could want more.

---

Kai cursed loudly as he walked along an empty street, heading for nowhere at all. He just needed to get away, to be alone. It seemed impossible to get some peace with all the so-called friends running around loosely. He needed to put them on a chain or something, so he could keep them at a distance when he wanted to. Which was pretty much all the time.

Bryan was just too damn good at dragging the truth out of people. He had endured four hours of constant nagging, before it just slipped past his lips. A lot had seemed to slip past his lips recently. He had practically told Tala that he was gay, and then told Bryan he wasn't, without having the slightest idea of his own sexual orientation. It was like he had stopped thinking. He was acting like a brainwashed moron, and had no clue why.

And then Bryan had told him to stay away from Tala. What the fuck was going on? It wasn't like Tala really cared. Not that way, anyway. The redhead was head over heels in love with some other guy.

There it was again. That annoying feeling that was itching in every inch of his skin, making him want to go and rip something to pieces, or beat up some innocent kid. And he still didn't have the slightest clue what made him feel that way. It was annoying. Frustrating. Maddening.

Stay away from Tala? And let someone else take the redhead away from him? No thanks!

_Maybe that's what friendship means,_ Kai thought. _Maybe I'm just afraid to lose my best friend._ Deep down, though, he knew it wasn't true. But he just couldn't figure out why he was so jealous of everyone who was around Tala.

He frowned slightly. "Like I'd ever let anyone keep me away from Tala again."

---

Tala looked up when he heard the door open.

"Bryan?" he asked. The other male was soon standing in the doorway.

"Hi," he smiled, and Tala frowned slightly.

"Where were you?"

"Nowhere. Just out."

The redhead sighed loudly, letting his ice blue orbs focus on the coffee in his hands. "Why won't you tell me? You've never hidden anything from me before."

An indescribable look appeared in Bryan's dull eyes. He looked somewhat miserable. And regretting. For a moment, Tala felt sorry for the other Russian.

"I was meeting Kai," the lilac haired male finally mumbled. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but… Oh, I don't know."

"You were with Kai?"

Bryan nodded. "He… acted kind of strange. Did you notice anything when he was here?"

Tala's heart skip a beat. He couldn't let Bryan know. He would probably try to hurt Kai. Tala wouldn't let anything happen to the younger boy. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened, and it was his fault.

"No, nothing special."

"Oh." Bryan stared emptily into the air. "Did something happen between you?"

The redhead frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know. Something. Anything."

"No," Tala lied. "Nothing happened."

Bryan sighed heavily, his face freezing in an unreadable mask. Then he sat down next to Tala, and the two teenagers just sat there for a while, complete silence surrounding them.

Tala sank deep into his own thoughts. Maybe his friends were right that the only thing Kai would ever do was hurting him. Maybe things were better the way they were. After all, he wasn't sure if he would be able to handle it if Kai rejected him. Maybe he should just forget about the younger Russian, and go home with Bryan and Spencer. With his family.

Maybe he would be better off without getting hurt. He still remembered how crushed he was when he and Spencer broke up. The relationship had been bad from the beginning. They were family. And so was Kai. How could he possibly have any guarantee that it would be different this time? Besides, it wouldn't be a good start of a relationship when Kai was just the prize in a game he had won.

He didn't even notice Bryan laying his arms around him. When his thoughts finally returned to reality, he looked confused at his childhood friend, lying with his head rested on Tala's shoulder, his dull eyes shut tightly.

"I don't want to lose you, Tala," he whispered. "Promise me," he said, looking up at the redhead with teary eyes, "promise me you won't ever leave me just because of some guy."

A cheerless smile graced Tala's lips. "I won't," he assured. "I definitely won't. Not even for Kai."

He was surprised by his own words. He had thought that if he could only have Kai, then nothing else would matter. But… that was wrong. He had Bryan and Spencer. Kai wasn't worth more than them. And if being with the one he loved forced him away from his best friends… Then he'd choose his family, for sure!

Bryan smiled. "You really love him, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Tala…" the lilac-haired male whispered. "If he was just using you, without any intention of being with you… you wouldn't let him do that, would you? You want more than sex or whatever, right? You want him to love you…"

Tala frowned slightly. "I don't understand what you're talking about, Bryan," he muttered.

"Just…" Bryan's lips twisted into a sad smile. "If he wants you… just to have some fun… please, forget about him."

"I will," the redhead replied. "I promise."

---

The next morning, Bryan was gone. He had left a note on the kitchen table.

_I'm out. Please don't worry about me. I just need to be alone for a while._

_- Bryan_

Tala smiled to himself, heading for the living room.

He almost had a heart attack when he saw the teenager half-sitting, half-lying on the couch.

Kai was looking as beautiful as ever, dressed in black jeans and a black band T-shirt. Grey bangs were hanging down in his face, half-covering his astonishing auburn eyes.

"Kai!" the redhead exclaimed. "How the fuck did you get in?"

The younger Russian smirked. "Bryan gave me a key, remember?"

"Oh. Right." Tala groaned silently as he sat down on the couch, next to Kai. He was careful not to get too close, though. He didn't want a repetition of what had happened earlier. After all, Kai didn't really love him. Tala wondered if he ever would.

Kai yawned. "Mmh, walking around all night sure makes you tired," he muttered, scratching his neck flaccidly. Tala's eyes widened.

"You mean you haven't slept all night?"

"That would be correct," Kai replied, still with the same smirk on his face. Tala sweat-dropped. How could the younger male be so careless about himself?

"You have to get some sleep!" the redhead said, almost angry. And before he knew what was happening, Tala found himself dragging Kai into the bedroom, pushing him down on the bed. "Seriously, Kai," he muttered. "You'll only get sick if you keep staying up all night."

Kai frowned. "You make it sound as if it's a habit of mine." He received a glare from Tala. "Okay, so maybe it _is_ a habit. But so what?"

"That's not a 'so what'!" the redhead yelled. "If you get tired enough, you'll fall asleep anywhere, anytime!" He groaned. "I don't even want to think about it."

"Could it be that you're worried about me?" the dual-haired male asked teasingly.

"Of course I do. You're my family."

Kai's smirk widened as he grabbed Tala's wrist and pulled the redhead down on the bed too. "Fine," he muttered into the mane of red hair. "But if I'm going to sleep, then so are you."

Tala tried to fight himself out of Kai's grip, but the younger boy pushed Tala down on the bed under him, using his weight to keep the redhead still. In the end, Tala had to settle with lying on his side, with Kai's arms wrapped around him.

"You're cold," he mumbled. He could feel the other Russian's breath against his neck.

"I thought you told me to go to sleep," Kai replied. "You shouldn't be keeping me awake with such silly comments."

Tala soon fell asleep, with Kai's strong arms firmly wrapped around him.

* * *

Finally, another update. I worked really hard on this, but I still think it turned out kind of.. weird _ Anyway, I hope at least _you guys_ like it ^-^ So please review -hint- And ever if you didn't like it, please tell me what sucked, and I'll try to improve :]

Yeah, so you know the roll. I'd really like to have **5 reviews** before I update, but... Well, I'll update anyway, but it's going to happen a lot sooner if I get my 5 reviews. ^-^


	8. Confusion

Hilary had never thought she could be so happy. The words Tyson had told her the night before were still running through her head, over and over again. _I want to try to fall in love with you._ How could she not be ecstatic about it? She had probably always loved Tyson. Yeah, he could be a real pain at times, but in the end, he was the one who kept everyone together. He could always make her laugh, and he always knew how to cheer up his friends.

She could still feel the light kiss he had placed on her cheek. He had told her that he didn't have a chance when it came to Kai anyway, and Hilary had always been such a good friend… It was too good to be true, but Hilary just couldn't bring herself to think that Tyson would lie to her.

The brunette let out a pleased sigh as her chocolate eyes gazed out of the window. If she just had Tyson, then everything would be perfect. She yawned, curling up under a blanket. She hadn't been able to get any sleep that night; she had been too excited about what Tyson had said. Now, however, she was starting to notice how tired she really was.

She fell asleep on the couch with a smile on her lips.

---

Max had spent three nights in a row at Spencer's place. He was unable to deny it anymore; he did like the older male, if only just a little bit. But the feelings for Kai were still present. It was a confusing situation, really. Max wasn't sure of anything anymore. Did he want Kai or Spencer? Would he really have a chance with any of them?

The blonde sighed silently, continuing to stare into the ceiling. He was lying on the bed, while Spencer was watching TV in the next room. It wasn't like he hadn't noticed that he smiled and laughed more whenever the Russian was around. He wasn't exactly oblivious to the fact that he blushed slightly when Spencer caught his eye either.

But he was confused. How could he have feelings for two boys at the same time? Besides, he was pretty sure neither of the Russians liked him that way. He would get left behind anyway. Kai would choose Tala, and Spencer would go back to Russia. There wasn't any opening for a relationship with any of them.

He got up without a sound, slowly walking into the combined kitchen and living room, where Spencer was sitting.

"Hi," he said plainly, sitting down on the couch. The older boy looked up at him.

"You should get some clothes on."

Max looked down at his own body, only dressed in a T-shirt and boxer shorts. "You managed to spill coffee all over my jeans last night, remember?"

Spencer chuckled, gazing down at his hands. "I almost forgot. I suppose you don't want to borrow any of my clothes?"

"It wouldn't fit," the younger blonde mumbled, rolling his eyes. "You're three times my size!"

"Don't exaggerate. It can't be more than two." Spencer smiled seductively, making Max blush. "And you can't go out looking like that, either," the Russian continued. "So I guess you're trapped in here, then?"

"I'm not!" Max complained. "If you would only wash my jeans…"

"Oh, but why would I want to do that?" Spencer asked with a teasing tone in his voice. "Now that I've got you all to myself…"

Max's breath hitched, and his cheeks turned into an even deeper shade of red, when Spencer suddenly pulled the younger male into his arms.

"S-Spencer…" Max muttered, trying his best not to get the Russian's shirt into his mouth as he spoke. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" the Russian repeated, a mischievous smile on his lips. "Because I like you, that's why."

Max caught a glimpse of a bottle of vodka on the table. He mentally slapped himself for not noticing it earlier. "Spencer, have you been drinking?"

"Maybe. Does it matter?"

"Get a hold of yourself, Spencer!" The younger blonde frowned. "You're just acting like this because you're drunk."

Spencer pushed the younger boy slightly away, but still holding him in a firm grip. "Who said anything about being drunk? I'm not automatically drunk because I took a few sips of vodka."

"You're affected by it, nevertheless."

"You make it sound like a bad thing. Maybe you should try it."

Before Max knew what was going on, Spencer had the opened bottle pressed against the American's lips. After trying to put up a fight, Max reluctantly let the liquid enter his mouth.

It didn't really taste much, except for the staining essence of alcohol. The young blonde swallowed, and felt the liquid burn in his throat. When Spencer kept pouring the drink into his mouth, Max swallowed one more mouthful. Then two, then three, then four, until the Russian seemed to be satisfied.

"I'm not old enough to drink," Max grumbled, causing a chuckle to emerge from Spencer's lips.

"You should get used to it. I started drinking when I was fourteen."

"Yeah, sure," Max laughed sarcastically. "How did you even get alcohol at that age?"

"Let's just say, Russians aren't as prudish as you Japanese."

Another laugh escaped the American's lips, but this was a sincere one. He didn't really feel any different from usual, maybe except that his problems seemed to shrink into… something very small, like an ant or something.

"I really do like you, though," Spencer said after a while, staring deeply into Max's blue eyes. The younger blonde blushed as the Russian leaned closer to him.

He could feel Spencer's breath against his face. His lips suddenly felt dry, and he licked them nervously. And he could swear that his heart stopped when Spencer pressed his soft lips against the younger boy's own.

"Spencer…" Max whispered when they pulled away from the soft kiss. Spencer smiled at the sound of his name.

"I know you probably don't like me," he mumbled into the younger male's ear. "Just let me be with you this once… and I swear, I'll never bother you again." He pressed his lips against Max's again, pushing the American down on the couch underneath himself. He licked Max's lower lip, asking for entrance, which he was soon granted. There was no battle for dominance; it was clear from the very beginning that the blonde Russian was the dominant one. Instead, their tongues were playing, caressing each other, creating a sensation of pure bliss in Max's clouded mind.

When Spencer pulled away from the kiss, Max thought vaguely that he should say something; tell the Russian that he _did_ like him. He opened his mouth to speak – but somehow, the words got lost along the way. Somehow, they were replaced with moans when the older male placed several light kisses along Max's jawbone, before he started licking and nibbling on the younger's earlobe.

Their shirts were soon disposed off, and Max let his hands slip around the Russian's neck, feeling the soft, pale, cold skin, before entwining his hands in the messy, blonde hair. He could feel Spencer's lips on his neck, slowly moving down. Then they were on his collar bone, then moving down his chest, earning whimpers and moans of pleasure from Max along the way.

The Russian started licking one of Max's nipples, and the American closed his eyes, perfectly aware of the bright blush on his freckled cheeks.

Without Max really understanding how it had happened, Spencer had taken off his jeans as well, and let his hand slide slightly under Max's boxer shorts. He hesitated, looking up at the younger male, who just nodded for him to continue. The Russian didn't move, though.

"You haven't done this before, have you?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Then let this be the first time," Max replied. But Spencer shook his head, caressing the American's cheek, before placing a soft kiss on the younger blonde's lips.

"You're not ready," he whispered, gazing at Max's face. "Another time… Maybe."

---

After another night sleeping next to Spencer in the much too small bed, Max could finally go home. It wasn't that the Russian didn't like having him there, but the last 24 hours had been… awkward. Max had seemed somewhat disappointed.

Spencer had really wanted to go through with it. But he knew that Max wasn't ready. And having sex before you were ready wouldn't do any good at all.

_Or maybe he was ready. _Spencer closed his eyes, trying to shake the thought away. _Maybe I underestimated him. Two years isn't that big of an age difference. I was about seventeen too, when I first…_ He didn't finish the sentence, though, not even in his head.

He sighed, shaking his head. "Just what have I gotten myself into?"

---

Kai was standing in the middle of town, with his back leaned against the corner of a house. The sun was starting to set, and there were people passing by him constantly. None of them spared him as much as a swift glance. They were too busy talking to their friends, and family, and lovers.

Once again, thoughts of Tala started running through his head. _Damn it,_ Kai thought to himself. _Why am I always thinking of him? Why can't he haunt that whore of his instead?_

He knew he was being unfair to whoever this guy was. But he couldn't help it. He couldn't stand the thought of anyone going near Tala.

It had to be someone completely out of the ordinary, though. The redhead didn't fall in love easily, but when he first did, he was serious about it, and he wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. Or until he got his heart crushed and scattered all over the floor.

The dual-haired male shook his head at his own morbid thoughts. It was true, though. Tala never gave up on anything until he got it. And _if_ he gave up, that was first after being rejected so many times that it would most likely make him suicidal.

"That guy better not hurt Tala," he muttered.

He still felt the warmth of the redhead's body against his own, from a few days before. It had been nice, the feeling of Tala's body pressed tightly against his own. Like on the cold winter nights back in Russia, when the redhead had used to climb into Kai's bed in the middle of the night to keep warm.

He didn't understand how it could help, though. Tala's body always felt so warm compared to Kai's own, so the only thing the dual-haired male would ever do was make the redhead even colder. But it was a nice feeling, the thin, yet strong arms that had embraced him, pressing him against the redhead's snow-white skin. Kai still remembered how he had used to sleep with his head rested on Tala's chest.

He wasn't sure when it had stopped. At some point, it seemed that Tala would rather curl up under a mountain of blankets than sleep in Kai's bed. It was probably about the same time that the redhead had changed. Not much, but enough for Kai to notice it. Enough for him to start worrying. Tala always seemed a little more distant than before. Kai had mentioned it to Bryan and Spencer, but they had just laughed him off, saying that the redhead was the same as always.

But he wasn't. He started eating less, and his already slender body just grew skinnier and skinnier. Kai had been surprised to find that his childhood friend was just as strong as before. When Bryan had taken that picture of them, and Kai had been unable to fight himself out of Tala's grip… It was a bit strange. The redhead had looked somewhat weak, but he was still stronger than Kai.

Things seemed to be going better now, though. Tala's eyes had gotten the burning intensity back. His light pink lips sometimes held the mysterious smile that Kai had spent his entire life trying to figure out. His skin, however, remained dead pale. But then again, he had always looked like that. It was part of the redhead's beauty.

Kai felt a slight blush creeping up his cheeks. But for once, it didn't annoy him that he thought so warmly of the redhead. He was just happy that Tala was back to his usual self.

* * *

Yay! Another update! Damn, I'm fast o.O When was the last update? Yesterday? Two days ago? o.O

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Hmm.. well, at least Max is more or less out of the way for Tala. But he and Spencer have some problems of their own coming up. And maybe, just maybe, Kai is starting to realize his feelings for Tala? I guess it's kind of useless for me to ask such questions, though, when I'm the one with the answers anyway.

Yeah, so anyway, of course, I would like to have my 5 reviews before I update again. That actually gets me to write faster as well. It's like I have a deadline... And I swear, I'd die from a heart attack if I ever missed a deadline. So you guys _will_ review, right? -puppy eyes-

Well, I'll se you in the next chapter! (metaphorically, of course xD) -blows kisses-


	9. Don't you dare hurting him

Sorry for the awfully long wait! I've had my hands completely full with school work, but luckily, holidays are soon here, so I'll be writing _a lot_ then!

Enjoy!

* * *

Ray sighed quietly. Kai was totally not worth all of the stress. The neko-jin was an idiot not to have realized how dim-witted Tyson's 'game' was from the beginning. He had gotten to the point where he was allowed to touch the older boy, but as soon as anyone as much as laid a hand on him, Kai was already half-way done with killing them. And the past few days, whatever Ray had done to level up, he had just ended up being pushed further and further back in the game. That was one of the rules that Tyson had come up with. If you did anything to annoy Kai, then you would have to move back in the game.

Well, the three others would be fine on their own. After all, there was no rule that said you couldn't quit.

Just then, a certain blonde male entered the room with two cups of steaming hot cocoa. "Don't drink it too fast, you'll burn your tongue," he warned. Ray rolled his eyes.

"Like I didn't hear it the thousands of times you told me before."

Mystel laughed as he sat down next to the neko-jin. "I know. I enjoy saying it, though." He took a sip of his cup, while his blue eyes were studying Ray. "You're quite handsome, you know. I don't see why Kai doesn't want you."

Ray smiled slightly. "I could make him fall head over heels in love with me if I wanted to," he smirked. "But it's too troublesome. For some reason or another, he's gotten it into his head that falling in love would be the end of the world."

"Maybe you should try seducing me, then," Mystel suggested, and Ray just laughed, taking a sip of his cocoa.

"I already did." Those words brought a slight blush to the blonde's cheeks. He then shrugged his shoulders, focusing on the cup in his hands.

"Well, it was worth a try."

The two boys sat in silence for a while, Mystel staring at the cup of hot chocolate, and Ray with his eyes of liquid gold fixed on the blonde.

Mystel almost dropped the cup when the neko-jin put his arms around the blonde's shoulders, nuzzling against his chest.

"What are you doing?" he muttered, receiving a playful grin from the raven haired Chinese.

"I already made you fall for me, didn't I?" Ray whispered. "Now, just why would I want to do that if not to have some fun afterwards?"

Mystel smiled, letting the younger boy climb onto his lap, their lips meeting in a rough kiss. It was clear from the start that Ray was the dominant one, and Mystel didn't seem to mind. The neko-jin grinned as the blonde parted his lips, letting Ray slip his tongue between them. He eagerly explored the older male's mouth, while his hands were entwined in the blonde hair.

The Spaniard let out a disapproving grunt when Ray pulled back from the kiss. The neko-jin just laughed. "Looks like you just can't get enough of me."

"You're right about that," the blonde replied, smiling slightly. The smile grew into a grin when the young Chinese grabbed the collar of his T-shirt, dragging him out of the living room, along a hallway and through the second door on the left, pushing him down on a bed.

"How did you know where my bedroom was?" he asked in a whispering voice.

Ray smirked. "I did some research," he whispered back, once again kissing the older male.

---

Max frowned, staring out of the window in his bedroom. Why didn't Spencer want to sleep with him? Although he knew the answer. _He doesn't care about me._ It had to be that way. The Russian had just taken advantage of him, not really intending to take things further than necessary to satisfy his own obscure needs.

Just then his cell phone rang, and he picked it up, letting his eyes sweep over the display. He didn't recognize the number, but knew enough to understand that it wasn't Spencer's (as it had been the past twenty-seven times). So he dared answering, as he prepared a scolding in case it was Spencer calling from someone else's phone.

"Hello? Max?"

A minute or so passed before Max realized he hadn't said a word. Maybe he was shocked that the voice wasn't Spencer's. Probably. Just shocked. And maybe a tiny bit disappointed.

"Yeah," he mumbled hastily. "Who 'm I talking to?"

The voice laughed. "Real clever, Maxie," Tala said. "You can't even recall my voice? Jeez, what a great friend you are."

"Sorry," Max muttered, slightly embarrassed for not realizing it was Tala.

"I heard what happened with Spencer."

"So?"

"I thought you liked Kai?"

Max could almost see the way Tala raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly.

"I do."

The redhead laughed. "Sure. And then you get all depressed over Spencer not wanting to sleep with you?"

Max shook his head, not knowing how to reply to this. Instead he said plainly, "You should be happy, though. One less to compete with." Then a thought hit him. "Wait, Spencer told you about that?"

"Yep," Tala replied, and this time, Max was sure that the self-confident smile was glued to the redhead's lips. "He also told me that you're probably thinking he doesn't care one bit about you, and that he was just using you, in lack of anyone else in his life. Is he right?"

"Of course he is," Max hissed. "But only because it's true."

Tala let out a sigh. "Don't be silly Max. The only reason he wouldn't have sex with you is because he didn't think you were ready. He wanted to, but he didn't, because that is how much he respects you." Another sigh. "You better make up your mind, Maxie. I wouldn't appreciate you messing with my brother."

"I… I really care about him," Max whispered. He was surprised to find that a single tear was tracing down his cheek. He hastily wiped it away as Tala spoke again.

"Sometimes that's just not enough, Maxie. Spencer has serious feeling for you, and if you're not able to return them, then you should just stay away from him. All you're going to do is hurting him."

"What do you mean?"

Tala sighed loudly. "I mean that if he ever has a reason to cry, then I'm personally going to make your life a living hell. Whatever happens, my family is the most important. And I think you know I'm dead serious when I say that I would do anything, _anything_, to protect them."

Max gasped quietly, his eyes widening, as he waited for the redhead to keep talking.

However, he didn't. After those last, threatening words, Tala hung up, leaving Max to wonder what he had really meant. The blonde didn't doubt for a second that Tala could have killed in order to protect Bryan and Spencer. But what exactly was it that he intended to do to Max if… if he hurt Spencer?

After a few minutes, Max figured it was best not to think about it. If he would hurt Spencer by being around him, then Tala was probably right. He should just stay away. After all, it wasn't that long until the Russians were going back home. He could manage that. If there was one thing he never wanted to do, it was to hurt Spencer.

---

It was late in the evening, and once again, Kai found himself roaming the streets, unable to think of anything but Tala. His fingers caressed his lips slightly. He could still feel Tala's lips against his own; could still taste the redhead's mouth. A slight blush started creeping up his cheeks.

_That's right, I should be embarrassed,_ he thought angrily, smashing his fist into a wall in a hopeless attempt to get rid of some frustration. _I made out with my best friend, and I'm still thinking about how fucking amazing it was. Like it would matter anyway._

He sighed loudly. "Bryan is going to fucking kill me if I don't stay away from Tala," he muttered quietly to himself. He knew that the other Russian would do anything to protect the redhead. Those words were still ringing through his head. _If you're not serious about it, stay away from him._ Coming from Bryan, that was most definitely a threat. Threatening people was his specialty, and he could do it without it sounding like a threat. Still, for some reason, people would always know when to do exactly as they were told, or Bryan was going to beat the crap out of them.

Kai still didn't understand why the lilac-haired Russian was so sensitive when it came Kai not having feelings for Tala. Especially not when Tala would have returned them anyway. All he knew was that he had to stay the fuck away from the redhead, or Bryan would get away with the perfect crime, and probably in a vastly creative way too.

However, before the teenager had the chance to start wondering about just how Bryan would murder him, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He picked it up without hesitation, discovering a text message from Tala.

_Kai! Bryan is out somewhere, and I'm fucking bored over here! You better come over this fucking moment, or I'm going to fucking die from fucking boredom!_

_- Tala_

Kai put the phone back in his pocket, and kept walking along the streets that were almost completely empty by now.

Like hell he would go to Tala's place. Why the fuck would he want to hear the redhead talking about _that guy_? Because he surely would, now that Kai knew about it. Besides, Kai really wanted to live for another while.

Somehow, though, Kai's feet took him to Tala's apartment complex. Somehow, his body longed for something that his mind wanted to stay away from. He didn't do anything that might have suggested he wanted to run as far away as possible.

Not even when he opened the door to Tala's apartment without ringing the doorbell. He could hear the cheerfulness in the redhead's voice as he heard the sound of the door opening.

"Hey!" he shouted from the living room, and Kai's body willingly followed the sound. "I knew you'd come," the redhead added when Kai was standing right in front of him. "Sit down."

But instead of obeying, Kai simply leaned down until his face was brushing Tala's, forcing their lips together in a rough kiss. The redhead stared confused at him for a while, before closing his eyes and responding to the kiss.

Kai wanted nothing more than to pull back and run far, far away, but he was no longer in control of his body. And this blissful feeling that filled him when Tala moaned into the kiss was all the persuasion he needed to stay. Before he even had the chance to react, he found himself leading Tala into the bedroom, pushing the older male down on the bed.

The redhead didn't complain as Kai's hands started undressing both of them while his lips were biting and sucking on the pale flesh on Tala's neck.

---

He looked from the alarm clock to the redhead lying next to him and back again. It showed 00:24. Kai was wondering whether or not to leave. When Tala woke up in the morning there would be questions, no doubt. And when he found out that Kai didn't have feelings for him, he would run to Bryan, crying his eyes out. Then Kai would be murdered by Bryan. And considering that Bryan – along with Spencer, Tala and all the other children who had grown up in the Abbey – had been trained to be a perfect assassin, he would most likely get away with it too.

It would probably be for the best if he just ran off now, leaving the questions unanswered.

Just as Kai got out of bed and started searching around for his clothes, the phone on the bedside table started ringing. He was terrified of letting it ring, in case Tala would wake up, but he didn't want to answer it either, in case it was Bryan. If he called to find Kai answering Tala's phone in the middle of the night, the younger Russian would be dead, for sure.

The redhead turned over in bed.

"Kai…" he muttered tiredly. "Could you get the phone?"

Kai nodded, reaching for the cell phone before tossing it over to Tala. The older male then pushed one of the buttons before holding the phone to his ear.

"Hello… Yeah, I'm fine… No, it's okay…" He kept going like that for what seemed like forever to Kai, only using fragments sentences of which Kai understood nothing.

Until, "It's fine, Bryan, Kai's here." At that the dual-haired boy froze completely, staring at his childhood friend through wide eyes. "I've told you before, Bryan," Tala continued. "Nothing happened between us. Not before, and not tonight. Why do you always assume that?"

Kai had to focus on breathing. Tala was talking to Bryan, one of the two – possibly three – persons that meant the most to him. And he was lying. He was lying about how they had hooked up back then, and he was lying about tonight. And Bryan _knew_ that he was lying about the first part.

"Okay, I got it. I'll see you tomorrow," the redheaded Russian finished before hanging up. Then he looked at Kai who was standing in the middle of the room, only wearing a pair of boxers, after failing in finding his clothes (he had been wearing his boxers the entire time).

"So, when are the questions coming?" he asked. To be honest, he felt a bit uneasy about the situation.

"There won't be any questions," Tala replied plainly. "I know you don't have feelings for me, and that you probably wouldn't be able to explain why you felt the urge to be with me. So I won't ask any questions, on the condition that you keep this a secret."

Kai nodded slowly. "Fine. I wouldn't want anyone to know anyway."

Tala was quiet for a few minutes after this, and Kai remained still, waiting for the redhead to react. Then, finally, the dull blue eyes found him again, and the older male opened his mouth. "Get the fuck out of here," he said firmly. Kai raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You heard me. The last time was out of pure curiosity, and this time was a weak moment of mine. I just needed _someone_, get it? Now get the fuck out of here."

The dual-haired male nodded as he finally managed to find his clothes, hastily pulling them on. "I understand. You needed someone in lack of _him._ Well, bye."

He didn't wait for an answer before rushing out of the apartment. He would never admit it, but he felt a bit hurt that Tala had used him in lack of the one he really loved. It didn't make him feel better that he had been doing the same thing to the redhead either.

As he walked out of the apartment complex, he quickly evaluated his choices. He couldn't go back to Kenny's place at this time. That would only lead to questions, and questions was the one thing that Kai wanted to avoid at the moment. He couldn't keep walking around until morning either; he would be completely exhausted. Everyone he knew had probably gone to bed already. Max and Tyson would most likely be awake, but they were always acting strangely around him. Ray would still be up too, but then again, he was always flirting with the Russian.

He then calculated who lived closest to Tala. As soon as he had his mind set, he started walking. He just hoped that Hilary wouldn't be too furious about being awoken in the middle of the night.

* * *

I just couldn't stand the thought of Ray ending up alone... And I am personally a huge fan of the RayxMystel pairing, so... There you go. This will probably be the end of Ray's part of the story. Maybe I'll add some minor conflicts concerning him and Mystel later. We'll have to see. As for now, the main pairings (and also the main conflicts) are KaixTala, SpencerxMax and TysonxHilary. Yes, I know, Tyson is a jerk, and Hilary is an idiot. Someone suggested that I should make Tyson bi, so that he could get together with Hilary, and I'm _considering it._ Either way, the plot line goes on, and Tyson is still the bad guy of the story. A thousand sorries to all the Tyson-fans, but I can't stand him. So there's the reason why I picked him as my bad guy.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I will update again as fast as I can after **5 reviews.** -blows kisses to reviewers- I'm depending on you, guys!


	10. Pain

Bryan was unsure of what to believe. He knew that Tala had been lying to him before, but the redhead had probably had his own reasons to do so, and Bryan had decided not to push the matter further.

This time, though, he wasn't sure what to believe. Tala would doubtless lie to him if it was to protect Kai. Then again, Kai wouldn't have known that. Which could possibly mean that he had taken Bryan's advice to stay away until he had some feelings to go along with his needs.

The Russian nodded slightly to himself, heaving a sigh. He believed that Tala had told him the truth. The redhead would never let anything happen between him and Kai a second time, knowing that the dual-haired male didn't have feelings for him.

He lied down on the couch in Spencer's apartment, finally able to fall asleep.

---

It was eight in the morning, and Kai was already out on the streets again. Hilary hadn't been too vicious when he woke her up in the middle of the night, but he had figured it would be a good idea to get out before she woke up anyway. Just in case.

It was Saturday. The streets were almost empty, making Kai feel all the more lonely. Why he had no idea. All he knew was that he was lonely; so much that it physically hurt.

He needed someone to talk to. Someone who knew how he felt. Someone who would understand, without asking too many questions. Just a few; the few that he needed to be asked in order to find the answers.

Who could he talk to that would understand him, and at the same time not be furious about him waking them up this early on a Saturday morning?

Images of blonde hair and innocent, blue eyes flickered through his mind. Kai shook his head, forcing the thoughts back. No way. _No fucking way._

However, his hand reached in the pocket of his jeans, his thumb dialing the number that was so familiar, yet so unknown.

He counted the seconds. _One… Two… Three… Four… Five… Six…_

"Hello?"

He silently cursed himself. There was no going back now. "Hey Max," he replied as casually as he could. "Look, would you mind if I dropped by for a minute?"

"Not at all." Kai could hear the sound of the American suppressing a yawn. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

Kai nodded slightly to himself. "I'll be there soon."

"Great. Bye."

"Bye."

Kai looked up (he hadn't noticed until then that he had been staring at his feet the entire time while talking to Max), surprised to find that the hobby shop which Max and his father lived above was right in front of him. These days, it seemed that his body had a mind of its own.

He waited a few minutes before walking right in, just as Max had always told him to. The blonde had given all of his closest friends a key to "show how much he trusted them". And so that he wouldn't have to open the door for them every time someone came to visit.

In the door, across the room, through the door behind the counter, up the stairs, along a hallway, through the third door on the right. Kai had no idea how he could have predicted Max's location. He just knew. Maybe it was his intuition. Maybe it was the extreme senses he had developed through the first six years of his life, while being trained to be the perfect assassin. Or maybe it was the fact that he knew the blonde so goddamn well.

Regardless of how or why, Max was in the kitchen, just as Kai had known.

The American offered him a tired smile. "Morning. Coffee?"

"Sure." Kai gave a faint smile in return as he sat down on one of the two chairs by the table. Max soon seated himself on the other chair as he placed two cups of coffee on the small wooden table.

"You like it black, right?"

Kai nodded. "Thanks."

The two of them sat in silence for a while. Kai could barely believe that he had come here. Why on earth had he thought that Max would be able to help him sort out his feelings? From what he had heard, the American was depressed over something that had happened with Spencer.

"You're not going to say anything, are you?" Max finally asked, breaking the awkward silence.

Kai shook his head slightly. "I… I don't know _what_ to say."

"There must be a reason why you called me," Max said. "The usual you would never call before coming over, you would just come. Period. Besides, you wouldn't come at all unless something was bothering you, right?" Kai opened his mouth to protest, only to find that he wasn't able to. Kai Hiwatari was many things, but he was not a liar. And denying what Max had just stated would be the same as lying.

Max continued, confidently, "Every time I see you, you have that troubled look on your face. It's like you think you can figure out the solution to your problems by listening to others speaking."

"You're right," Kai sighed. He took a sip of his coffee before continuing. "I'm not comfortable talking about my problems. However, it seems that I have no choice."

"What is it, then?" the blonde asked curiously, making a short laugh escape Kai's lips.

"There's this guy," the Russian mumbled. "He's always on my mind, and I have no idea why. And… it hurts. It fucking _hurts_, Max."

A soft smile graced Max's lips. "Who is this guy?" he asked quietly.

"Tala."

The two-syllable-word left his lips without a second thought. Kai blushed slightly, staring down at his hands for what seemed like forever, while silence once again reigned over them.

"I guess it wouldn't be easy for you to understand," Max said, finally breaking the silence. "Since you've never been in love before, I mean."

Kai froze. "What…?" He dared looking up again, and the blonde had a friendly smile on his lips.

"You love him, don't you? You have for quite some time, right?"

"How do you know you love someone?"

Max's eyebrows narrowed. "That's a tricky question," he sighed. "You just know. But… if I had to say something, I guess I would say that you know you love someone when you're not able to get them out of your mind. Well, never completely, anyway. It's when you put them before yourself, and when you would do anything for them to be happy. Including staying away from them." As he spoke the last words, Max's voice was barely audible anymore, and his eyes were blank and distant. "If you brought them pain by being close to them… If you really loved them, then you would stay away."

Kai swallowed. "Is it really true, then? About Spencer and you?"

"Yeah. I just… I don't want to hurt him." Tears started flowing down Max's cheeks. "I want to be able to protect him, Kai. To make sure no one will ever hurt him. But the only one there is to protect him from is me. And in order to do that, I can't see him. I can never tell him how I feel."

"Spencer doesn't need to be protected," Kai informed him, shaking his head. "What he needs is someone who will be able to stay by his side, someone that he doesn't consider family." He sighed loudly. "He doesn't need to be protected," he repeated. "He needs someone to _protect._"

When Kai was out of words, Max just nodded, taking a mouthful of coffee. They sat like that for a while, in silence, drinking coffee and throwing glances at each other every once in a while. However, this time, the silence wasn't awkward. Rather than that, it was _pleasant. _Being able to sit there, not having to talk because they understood each other. Kai had never thought he would experience that. But maybe he had been wrong. Maybe, just maybe, it was time for him to start over, and let someone into his life for once. Maybe it would be okay to have someone to trust…

"So, are you going to tell him how you feel?" he finally asked.

Max shook his head, sighing quietly. "You're not going to give me any other choice, are you?"

Kai smirked, and the blonde sitting opposite of him laughed. "I thought so. How about you? Are you going to tell Tala about _your_ feelings? Or are you just going to keep shutting everyone who cares about you out of your life?"

"I don't know," Kai replied. "Tala… he already likes some guy."

"You know," Max said, and this time it was his time to smirk, "I heard a rumor that _you're_ that guy."

Kai's eyes widened in shock, but he didn't say anything. All this time he had been jealous of himself? Because he was sure now, that it had been jealousy, the feeling he had whenever he pictured Tala with another guy.

"So, are you going to tell him?"

The dual-haired Russian blushed, but didn't avoid eye contact with his friend. "I guess I am," he whispered, smiling.

---

Tala was happy when Bryan finally returned. It had been lonely without Kai there. It had broken his heart to throw the younger male out like that, but he had no choice. He was afraid that if he had let Kai stay any longer, he might not have been able to keep his feelings a secret.

"How is Spencer?" he asked as Bryan sat down on the couch next to him.

"He's acting weird," the other Russian replied. "But I guess we can't blame his for that. It seems that he has really fallen for Max."

"Let's just hope that the kid doesn't hurt him too bad," Tala said with a slight smile on his lips.

Bryan nodded. "He'll be dead if he as much as thinks about it."

Neither of them said anything for a while. Tala knew that Bryan was thinking about the same as him. Kai.

"Don't you think you should tell him?" Bryan asked after a while. For a moment, Tala was sure that his heart stopped. Then he felt tears pressing behind his eyes, and he quickly turned towards his brother, burying his face in the other Russian's chest. He soon felt Bryan's strong arms holding protectively around him in an attempt to comfort him.

But it didn't. Tala missed the way Kai had used to hold him when they slept in the same bed to keep warm during winter. He missed the soothing words that the younger male had used to whisper in his ear whenever he was sad. He missed Kai.

"I love you," Bryan said quietly. Tala smiled into his friend's chest.

"I love you too, Bryan."

---

Kai felt a slight smile on his lips as he rushed through the streets. He was so stupid not to have realized it before. Of course he was in love with Tala! What else could have made his heart beat like crazy whenever the redhead was around? Why else would his blood boil with anger and jealousy every time he thought of Tala with another boy?

Kai loved him. It was all so simple, really.

He quickly reached the apartment complex. His smile grew wider as he entered the elevator, pushing the button that said "6". He couldn't wait. Could barely wait to tell Tala those three words. "I love you".

He was soon there, just outside of the door. He pulled the key out of his pocket, unlocking the door quickly and silently. Oh, how many times he had gone through this in his mind on the way. Tala would be in the living room, drinking a cup of coffee. The couch he would be sitting on had its back turned against the door. Kai would walk up behind him without a sound, and then pull the redhead into a soft hug. Then, when Tala turned around to give him a confused stare, Kai would tell him that he loved him.

He opened the door as quietly as he could, before stepping inside. His footsteps were completely inaudible. No way Tala would discover him before Kai meant for him to. The Russian let a finger stroke over his lips. He couldn't wait to see the look on Tala's face when he told him. Just couldn't wait to feel those soft lips against his own once again.

He took three steps forward; just enough for him to stand in the middle of the doorway on his right. He turned around, expecting to see a mane of red hair resting on the back of the couch. Instead, he saw the back of Bryan's head and the top of his shoulders. He saw the older male's arm around the redheaded figure that was Tala's body.

Kai had to keep himself from screaming when he heard them speak.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Bryan."

Without a second thought, Kai turned around and marched right out, still without making a sound. Only when he was outside, feeling the fresh air caressing his skin, he dared running.

He ran as fast as he could, not caring where. He just needed to get away.

He was so stupid, really. Of course Tala wouldn't wait for him forever. He was a fool to have thought he would. Tala had gotten tired of waiting, and he had moved on, found someone new. He had Bryan now. It was too late for Kai.

He was surprised to find that there were no tears pressing behind his eyes or flowing down his cheeks. Shouldn't there be? Shouldn't he be crying now that he had lost Tala forever?

He was so brainless. First, he had to _be told_ that he was in love. That should definitely be something he realized on his own! If he couldn't even figure out that he loved someone, what kind of an emotionless bastard was he?

And now that he had finally discovered it, finally found out that Tala felt the same way, the redhead had already forgotten about him. It hurt like hell. Tala might just as well have ripped Kai's heart out of his body, the way he was clinging to Bryan, telling him how much he loved him.

And despite that; despite the fact that Kai felt like he was actually dying, he didn't cry. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't manage to shed one single tear over the fact that the boy he loved didn't care one last bit about him.

He didn't stop running until he heard someone calling his name.

"Kai? Kai, what the fuck is going on?!"

Those words slowed him down. Once his feet had stopped racing, he turned around to look at whoever it was that had spoken to him.

Before he had a chance to react, Tyson grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him. "Kai, are you okay? What's wrong? Why were you running like that? Did something happen?" The words came out of Tyson's mouth so fast that Kai could barely understand what the Japanese was saying.

"I'm okay," he muttered in reply, once Tyson had let go of his shoulders. "It's just… Tala…"

Tyson crinkled his nose. "Tala? What about Tala?"

"I think… I really like him Tyson," Kai said, looking at his friend with ruby red eyes that showed nothing but pure agony. "I was going to tell him, but then I saw him with Bryan. He said he loved him…"

Tyson looked at him with an indefinable look for a moment, before concern showed in his dark brown eyes. "Come on," he said quietly as he gently pulled Kai with him along the street. "Let's go to my place, okay? Then we can talk."

Kai nodded, following the younger male without complaining. He needed someone to talk to right now. Someone who would listen, without saying stupid things like 'just get over him, idiot'. Because right now, there was no way he would be able to get over Tala.

* * *

Okay, so I realised that Kai would need a little help to find out how he felt about Tala. I also realised that Max would need someone to give him the guts to tell Spence about his feelings. So I just let them talk to each other. And to be honest, I think it worked out pretty well.

I know it's a crappy way to end the chapter, but... yeah. So, what do you guys think will happen with Kai and Tyson? I can tell you as much as that it's nothing good. For further details, you will have to wait for the next chapter! ^-^ Well, I assume that it will be in the next chapter. I doubt that I will be able to write almost three thousand words about Max and Spencer, so it will _most likely_ be there. And, as always, I will update as soon as possible after I get **5 reviews**. So I'm counting on you guys to keep me motivated here! -blows kisses to reviewers-


	11. Unforgiveable

"Thanks for taking care of Kai for me," Tyson mumbled, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks. A small giggle escaped Hilary's lips. He was just so damn _cute_.

"It's okay," she replied, smiling. "You have to go to work, after all, and I'm still on vacation. It's only logical that I help you out."

Tyson nodded. "He seems rather depressed. I'm afraid that if I leave him alone, he'll hurt himself."

"Do you know what it's about?"

"He hasn't said anything yet." The bluenette sighed loudly. "I think it's something about Tala. I'm not sure exactly what it is, though."

They stood there in silence for a while, two silhouettes in the doorway of the small apartment. Hilary glances over at Kai, who was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands.

"I have to go," the Japanese boy finally said. "I'll drop by later, okay?"

The brunette kissed Tyson on his cheek. "Bye. Try not to worry too much. I'm sure everything will be okay."

Tyson nodded. Then the door closed behind him, and Hilary was left with Kai in the dark room.

She flicked the lights on, before walking over to the couch and sitting down next to the Russian. She gently put her arms around him, for the first time earning a reaction from the male. He looked up, showing Hilary a tear-stained face with trembling lips and eyes that were even more red than usual.

"What happened?" the Japanese asked quietly.

Kai's trembling lips parted. "Tala…" The name was no more than a hoarse whisper, as a result from not speaking for three days.

"You really like him, don't you?" Hilary said, her voice gentle and soothing. Kai just nodded at this, and so the small female continued. "So what happened? I thought he liked you too…"

"I… I wanted to tell him… how I felt…" Kai's voice was trembling, new tears streaming down his face, but he didn't stop talking. "But… he… he had already… gotten over me… moved on… and then I… I saw him… with Bryan, and… and he said that he loved him…"

Hilary pulled Kai into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Kai. This must be really painful for you." The Russian just nodded, but made no move to try to get out of Hilary's grip. In fact, it seemed to calm him down.

"I wonder…" he said after what seemed like forever. "I wonder if I was the only one who was too blind to realize that he liked me."

Hilary gave him a sad smile. "I'm sure you weren't. Tala is really good at hiding his feelings, you know. I don't think that many people knew."

"Did Bryan know?"

This question confused Hilary. How on earth would she know if Bryan had known? All of the Russians were way too secretive for anyone to even guess what they thought.

"He probably did," she finally replied. "After all, he and Tala are like family. Tala probably told him."

Kai nodded. His eyes were filled with pain, but the constant flow of tears had stopped. "That's what I thought too. Especially after what he said that one time…"

"What…?" The one word lingered in the air for a moment, while Kai took a deep breath, preparing the answer.

"Tala and I… We kind of made out once. I never understood why I enjoyed it so much though, not until I realized that I actually _liked_ him. So I told Bryan, and he asked me to stay away from Tala if I wasn't serious about it."

"Sounds like he really knew, then," Hilary whispered. "I think he understood that you returned his feelings too… that you just hadn't realized it yet."

Kai's blood red eyes locked with Hilary's. The Japanese had never thought that it would be possible for anyone to be that heartbroken; so much that their eyes were nothing but a bottomless well of agony.

That was how Kai's eyes looked. It was impossible to see the actual shape and color of them; the only thing visible was the never-ending pain that they contained.

"Then why?" the Russian whispered, his voice almost drowning in the sobs that had recently started again. "Why would he take him away from me?"

"I… I don't know," Hilary mumbled. "Maybe…" She sighed. "I really don't know, Kai."

She continued to hold around Kai as he cried. He was so fragile, so vulnerable. So different from the Kai that she had known for years. A wave of anger came over her. How dared he? How dared Tala crush Kai like this? Whether it was on purpose or not, _no one_ had the right to hurt her friends.

It was unforgiveable.

---

Blue eyes stared emptily out of the window. He felt so alone, so isolated. It was long since he had seen Kai. Too long.

The phone in his hand vibrated, and he answered it instantly.

"Did you find him?" he asked desperately. A tear slid down his cheek. It had been almost a week since anyone had seen Kai.

"No, I'm sorry," Bryan replied. "I talked to Kenny, and he said that Kai probably wants to be alone. He does that a lot, after all. Leaves without letting anyone know where he's going."

Tala shook his head violently. "No! Not like this. Not for days at a time."

"I know that you're worried," Bryan said. "But no one's going to listen to us. We're the only ones who know that this isn't like Kai at all." Pause. Nothing could be heard except Bryan's breathing. Then, "Did you tell Spencer yet?"

Tala shook his head again, even though he knew that Bryan couldn't see it. "No. He's not answering the phone. Besides, I… I don't think we should be worrying him with this. He's got problems of his own."

"You're right," Bryan sighed. "Have you tried calling Kai again?"

"Yeah." Another tear made its escape from the redhead's dull blue eyes. "He won't answer. Bryan, something's wrong with him. I know it."

"I know. Look, Tala, it would be good for you to get out for a while. You'll worry yourself to death it you just stay inside. Can't you – oh, I don't know – go shopping or something? We're out of coffee."

"Okay," he mumbled, and when he was about to hang up, he added, "Thanks, Bryan."

Tala quickly changed into a different T-shirt (he had been wearing the same one for days) before going out. It was finally starting to feel like summer. Not that any of the Russians had been wearing jackets all summer, even when everyone else did. They were used to the cold. After all, they were _Russian_.

It was only a five-minute walk to the closest store. Tala was walking with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. The only thing on his mind was Kai. And the unstoppable fear that maybe this time, Kai had actually left them.

Just as he reached the store, he walked right into another person.

"I'm so sorry!" the person exclaimed. Tala looked down, surprised to find Hilary down on the ground, picking up her groceries.

"No, it was my fault," he mumbled, bending down to help her. A swift sign of anger could be seen in Hilary's eyes when she realized that it was Tala, but it disappeared as soon as she saw the pained expression on the redhead's face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's nothing," Tala muttered, fighting to keep the tears back. "It's just that… Kai has been gone for almost a week. No one knows where he is, and he won't answer his phone. I'm just… I'm really worried about him."

Hilary's expression was impossible to read. Once she had finished putting all of the groceries back into the bags, she stood up. "Kai is at my place," she said tonelessly.

Tala's eyes widened. "What? Why? Can I…" He trailed off, swallowing thickly. "Please, can I see him?"

The Japanese's eyes were filled with pure anger. "I don't think he would want to see you. Ever."

"But why?" Tala demanded. "Hilary, I _need_ to see him. Please…" A few tears broke through the barrier behind Tala's eyes, trailing down the pale skin. More of the followed, before he was finally able to push them back again.

Hilary looked down. "Okay," she muttered, obviously not pleased with where this was going. "Come on."

---

Max stared at the door in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he opened it. Without knocking. Without ringing the doorbell. If he heard Spencer's voice telling him to come in, then he probably wouldn't have the guts to do it.

"Spencer?" he called out. He was answered by a loud grunt from the living room, and he quickly followed the sound.

The Russian was lying on the couch, eyes half-closed and a foolish slight-smile on his lips. "Maxie," he said hoarsely. "What're you doing here?"

Max walked over to him, smelling the alcohol-stenched breath of the older male. "Just great," he muttered to himself. "You're drunk."

"Don't be stupid," Spencer muttered in return. "I'm not drunk just because I had a little to drink. I can hold down more alcohol than all of you Japanese."

Max rolled his eyes. "Don't make me correct you by saying that I'm American."

Spencer sat up, staring deep into Max's eyes. "But seriously, Maxie," he said, with a voice that showed no sign that he had been drinking. "Really, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to apologize," the younger blonde mumbled, a blush creeping up his cheeks. "And I… I wanted to say that…" He trailed off for a moment, lost in the depths of Spencer's eyes. "I kinda… really… like you," he finished.

Spencer's face showed no emotion whatsoever. Max's heart was beating rapidly, terrified that coming here had been a horrible mistake.

Then the Russian leaned in, placing a soft kiss on his lips. "In that case," he smirked, "I'll probably have to say that I really like you too, Maxie."

Max smiled, happy to let Spencer lift him up in his strong arms, placing the American in his lap. He leaned into the muscled chest, enjoying the scent of Spencer.

"When did you start calling me Maxie, anyway?" he asked after a while.

Spencer laughed. "Tala started it. It's kind of contagious. Why? Don't you like it?"

"I love it," Max purred.

The Russian kissed the top of Max's head. "I think it suits you. A cutie like you needs a cute name."

The younger blonde smiled, enjoying the warmth of Spencer's protective embrace. Kai had been right. Spencer didn't need anyone to protect him. He just needed someone to protect. And Max was eternally grateful that he could be that person.

Suddenly, a thought hit him. Literally. It felt like someone had just punched him in the stomach. Not being able to control it, his body started trembling, and tears were materializing in the corners of his blue eyes.

Of course, Spencer noticed. "Maxie, what's wrong?" he asked, concern and desperation in his voice.

"You're… you're going back to Russia soon, aren't you?" Max managed to whisper in between violent sobs.

"Yeah, but what has that-" Spencer started, but cut himself off. "Oh." He grabbed Max's shoulders, turning the younger boy around. "Look at me, Max," he said firmly. Teary, blue eyes filled with pain looked up at him. "Max, I am _not_ leaving you. I could never do that. We'll work this out, I promise. I won't let you be taken away from me."

"I don't want to be without you," Max mumbled.

Spencer looked lovingly at him. "I don't want to be without you either, Maxie," he whispered, pulling the younger male into a tight hug. "I love you."

He continued to whisper into the American's ear, again and again, those same three words. "I love you." He kept talking in a soft, soothing voice until his lover stopped crying.

"I love you, Maxie," he said gently. "And I'm not going to let you slip away from me. I… I want you to come with me when I go back to Russia, Max."

Max sniffed, looking up at him. "Really?" he whispered.

The Russian nodded. "Will you come with me?"

The younger male smiled, once again leaning into his boyfriend's embrace. "Of course I will," he mumbled into Spencer's shirt. "It's not like I'd let you leave me behind."

"I wouldn't even dream about it."

* * *

Yet another update. I'm sorry that it took so long. Every year, when Christmas time comes, I think "Yes! Holidays! Now I'll have lots of time to write!" And then, when the holidays come, I realize that I'll barely have time at all. Because "Christmas is all about family" and my family is too freakin' huge! And when school starts again, I have to focus on school work. My grades dropped like a rock in an ocean this semester, all because I was too busy writing. So I'm terribly sorry to say that the updates will probably take this long from now on.

Anyway, I hoped that everyone enjoyed this chapter! And also, I will expect my usual reviews before the next chapter comes up. Although, with the awful long time it's going to take to write another update, it'll probably be a piece of cake to get **5 reviews.**

Well then, I'll see you all in the next chapter!


	12. Disappointment

Max was staring holes into the walls in his bedroom. His dad had just come back from America, after visiting Max's mom. And now the young blonde was trying to gather up the nerve to tell his dad that he was moving out. That he was moving to not only another country, but a completely different continent. That he was practically moving to the other side of the planet, to be with the one he loved. And the most important, but also the worst and most nerve-wrecking part; that he was gay.

Max's dad was a kind man. He was always nice to his son's friends, and everyone else he met, for that matter. There was no end to his hospitality, and he would to anything for the ones he cared about. And the most precious person in his life was Max.

The two of them were like best friends. They had never kept secrets from each other. Never. Except for this one, huge secret that been fighting to get out for so many years. But Max had never told his dad that he was gay. He was scared to do so. Not because the man had ever given any sign that he was the slightest bit homophobic. Simply because Max knew his father very well. And he was absolutely sure that his reaction wouldn't be positive when Max told him the biggest secret – the only secret – in his life.

After what seemed like forever, Max took a deep breath, stood up and walked out of the room. He followed the sound from the TV that was on, slowing walking into the living room. The dark-haired man was sitting on the couch, staring emptily at the screen.

"Max!" he exclaimed once he spotted his son. A giant, cheerful grin was glued to his face. "Sit down, kid, don't act like you're in the house of a total stranger," Max's father continued, switching the TV off. "Great timing. There wasn't anything good on TV." The smile was still there, torturing the poor boy.

"Dad, I need to talk to you about something," he said quietly. His expression was so much different from the usual happy smiles that was the first thing people thought about when they thought of him. He was dead serious. And his eyes were filled with devastating fear.

"What's wrong?" the grown man asked, his eyebrows narrowing. "Has something happened?"

"Well, yes," Max replied, still not sitting down, even though his dad was motioning towards one of the chairs. "I… I have made a very important decision. By the end of this month, I'll be moving out."

His dad had an indescribable look on his face. "Oh. Well, I guess it's only logical. You're a teenager, you want your space. I can help you find an apartment if you want. And of course, I'll help you pay the rent."

Max shook his head, forcing back the tears that were threatening to start running down his cheeks. He couldn't start crying now! He had to be strong. "It's so much more than that. I'll be moving to Russia."

The man stared at him, in shock.

"You know I have friends there," the blonde continued. "I have discussed this with a friend of mine. He has quite a bit of influence over there, and he's going to get me into a good school. I'll get a job, I'll work hard. I can live with some friends of mine; they have an extra room in their apartment. And they own the place, so you don't have to worry about the rent."

Max's dad nodded. "I suppose all of this makes sense. I know about your beyblade-friends, and I'm aware of the influence they have in their home town. I know you'll be fine, Max," he smiled at his son. "But tell me one thing; why exactly is it that you want to go to Russia? You never said anything about that before. And I thought you wanted to go to one of the universities here in Japan. And just so you're aware of it, I'm reluctant of letting you move to another country while you're still in high school."

Max froze. He had hoped that he wouldn't have to explain this. But that chance had probably never been there at all. He swallowed. "I want to be close to Spencer," he explained quietly with thick voice.

"Spencer. This friend of yours, am I right? What is the relationship between you two, exactly?"

The American stared down at his feet. _Here goes everything._ "He's my boyfriend," he said, surprised by how strong and clear his voice sounded.

The confused, yet kind and understanding look on his father's face was replaced with one of pure rage. "What?!" he yelled, standing up so that he looked even more terrifying. While Max was quite short for his age, his dad was a tall and muscled man. "This Spencer is your _boyfriend_? What the hell are you thinking, believing I'm going to let you move to the other side of the planet with some completely strange guy?! Like hell I'll let those fags turn my son into one of _them_."

"There's nothing wrong with being gay," Max muttered through clenched teeth. "Lots of my friends are." His dad gave him a victorious glare and shouted something about 'that's why you think you are too, they're like parasites'.

"Shut up!" the blonde hissed, getting his father's full attention again. "I happen to love Spencer," he continued, "and there's nothing wrong about it. It's _love_, dad. If there is one thing in the world that is great, and should be appreciated, it's love. Just because I won't be able to have children with a guy, that doesn't make it less natural!"

The dark-haired man suddenly looked really old. Tired. Like life itself had been drained from him. His usually lively eyes were now nothing but shallow caves.

"You are not going to Russia," he said hoarsely. "And you are not seeing that guy again. You won't be leaving this house until you come to your senses. Do I make myself clear?"

Max nodded, blinking away the tears that were popping up in his eyes. "Yes," he whispered. "I understand. I understand that you're completely unreasonable." With that, he walked slowly into his bedroom, shutting the door after him. He threw himself down on the bed, finally letting himself cry. It had all been within his reach. He had told Spencer how he felt, he had found out that he Russian returned his feelings. He had been terrified to lose his boyfriend, and Spencer had asked him to come with him to Russia. It could have been so easy. I could have been so, so easy. If only his father hadn't turned out to be such a homophobe.

His cell phone rang. That was probably Spencer, wondering what his dad had said. Max answered quickly, and spoke quietly to the Russian.

"Hello?"

"Maxie! What did he say? He's letting you go, right? I mean, everyone always says that your dad is so cool, so… He's got to let you leave! Right?" Spencer barely gave Max the opportunity to press in a comment.

"Slow down, I can barely understand you," he said quietly.

He heard the sound of the door slamming shut. His dad always went out when he was angry, only to come home drunk and have a horrible hangover the next morning. Luckily, he wasn't angry all that often.

"Hey, what's wrong, Maxie?" Spencer's voice was full of concern, and Max almost started crying again, thinking about everything that he was going to miss out on while being held captive by his dad.

"He… said no," he whispered. "He won't let me go. Because of… because of us."

"What do you mean, 'because of us'?" Spencer sounded annoyed. Max pictured the blonde Russian, frowning. "He's not letting you move out because of our relationship?"

"Y-yeah," Max whispered, tears running down his cheeks again. "You see, I… I never told him that I was gay, and when I said that I wanted to move to Russia to be with you, he… he snapped. He said that he wouldn't let his son turn into a filthy fag."

He could almost see the raged expression on Spencer's face.

"And you can't leave without his permission because you're under-age," the Russian stated emptily. Max mumbled a 'yeah' in reply, earning a growl of annoyance from the older male. "Well, I guess we'll have to make the best out of the time before I leave, then."

"No." Max was doing his best to keep his voice clear. He didn't want Spencer to know that he was crying. "He forbid me to see you, Spencer. I'm not even allowed to leave the house until I 'come to my senses', as he says."

"I can't see you, then," Spencer said quietly. Max could hear the pain in those words, and it all crashed down on him like a wave. He tried to suppress a sob, but it fought its way past his lips.

"You're crying," the older male said firmly. Max couldn't do anything but to sniff and wipe away tears, making a weak noise as if to say 'yes'. "I don't care how big, strong or powerful your dad is, Max. I'm sorry to have to say it, but I don't care one last bit about how much he must mean to you. He made you cry, and I'm going to make sure he regrets it forever."

"Please, don't hurt him," Max whispered.

Spencer chuckled softly. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, Maxie. But I have to do _something._ Don't worry, I won't seriously hurt him. I'll just scare him a little. Okay?"

"Okay," the younger blonde replied quietly. "I love you, Spencer."

"I love you too, Maxie," the Russian said tenderly. And with that, the connection was broken.

---

Kai was grateful for everything that Hilary had done for him. He had been skeptical to having Tyson around in the beginning, because of his previous experiences with the younger boy, but things had turned out better than he had expected. Besides, it was necessary to have Tyson there. Hilary had to go out sometimes, which was completely reasonable. And Kai was starting to develop a constant fear of being alone. He didn't want the Russians to find out where he was either.

So Tyson was a necessity.

This day, they were sitting next to each other on the bed in the one bedroom in the apartment. Hilary had insisted that Kai should take the bed, even though he had offered to sleep on the couch. A girl shouldn't have to sleep in such an uncomfortable place. But she had ignored him. Hilary had decided, and she would rather die than to change her mind.

It was on this day that Kai first spoke to Tyson about the Tala-incident, as he had named it.

"I can't have him," he mumbled. "I can't have him, and it hurts like hell."

Tyson's face showed compassion and worry. "I'm really sorry, Kai," he said quietly. "But you know, sitting around feeling miserable isn't going to help." He received a heated glare from Kai. "I'm just saying," the Japanese continued, "that you could do something about it. You could find a replacement for him, you know. Not for the love-part, obviously. But for the physical part."

The suggestion seemed bizarre and insane. "No," Kai whispered. "No, that wouldn't be possible."

"Yes, it would," Tyson assured him in a soft, soothing voice. "Just close your eyes and pretend it's your precious Tala."

"No," Kai protested again. "I can't do that, Tyson! It would be like cheating on him."

Tyson frowned slightly, biting his lower lip. "How could you be cheating on him when he's dating Bryan?"

The logic was undeniable. But still…

Kai looked at the younger male through teary, crimson eyes. "I… I just can't, Tyson…"

The Japanese sighed loudly. "You know, finding a replacement isn't all that bad. It can help you get your mind off things."

"I love him, Tyson."

"I know," Tyson whispered, his voice low and soothing. Then, without further hesitation, he pressed his lips against the Russian's. Kai froze for a second, but soon decided to do as Tyson had suggested. It wouldn't hurt to try, right?

He closed his eyes, picturing Tala.

He soon took control of the kiss. The two of them got up from the bed; the positions were too disabling, keeping their bodies too far apart for their liking. Kai shoved Tyson harshly into the wall, his hands ravishing the younger teen's body. The bluenette's skin was soft and warm, just like Tala's. If he tried hard enough, he could ignore the fact that Tyson was shorter than the redheaded Russian.

He bit down on Tyson's lower lip, making the younger male part his lips in a moan, creating a chance for the Russian to slip his tongue into the other's mouth. Tyson's strong arms gripped around Kai's back, fingers entwining in his hair. So much like what Tala had done. And yet so very different.

The only reason that Kai wasn't feeling completely disgusted was the image of Tala that was glued to the insides of his eyelids.

---

As they were walking, Hilary told Tala about how depressed Kai was. When the redhead asked why, though, he only got a poisonous glare as an answer.

He was told that Kai was afraid of being alone. That Tyson was with him. Tala was suspicious of the younger teen. What reasons could he possibly have for wanting to be alone with him, other than trying to win him over?

His suspicions didn't become smaller when Hilary told him that she and Tyson were dating. Why the hell would Tyson be dating a girl, when he was gay? He didn't say anything to Hilary, thinking that she might take it as an insult. But as they were walking, he realized that Tyson had never actually specified that he was gay. For all Tala knew, he could be bi.

This thought relaxed him a little. He could have thought that winning Kai over was hopeless, and fallen in love with someone knew, like the others. He could actually be in love with Hilary, and care about Kai as a good friend, and therefore take care of him during this time when he was really miserable.

It made sense. It made sense because Tala _wanted_ it to make sense. Because he couldn't stand the thought of anyone else being close to _his_ Kai.

"Well, here we are," Hilary muttered, mostly to herself, as she unlocked the front door to her apartment. "They're in the bedroom. Kai rarely leaves there." She pointed swiftly to one of the doors, before she started putting away the groceries.

The redhead nodded, walking towards the door that Hilary had pointed to. It didn't occur to him to knock on the door; he just opened it. The Kai he knew would never have any problems with that.

He remained standing as frozen in the doorway. He couldn't believe his own eyes. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't. _It just fucking couldn't!_

The two males seemed to become aware of his presence. Kai looked up at him through confused eyes. However, it wasn't the eyes that caught Tala's attention. It was the lips. They were red and swollen; the same color as Kai's eyes. Tyson didn't look much different.

"That's… against the rules," Tala whispered, barely loud enough for anyone to hear. Then he felt tears pressing behind his eyes. He turned around on the spot and ran. Through the still open door, down the stairs, out, into the fresh air.

He just ran, without knowing where. And frankly, he didn't really care either. He just wanted to get away. Away from everything. Away from that image. The image of Kai and Tyson, arms wrapped around each other's bodies, lips united in a never-ending, over-passionate kiss.

How could Kai do this to him? Tala was the only one who had always loved him. He loved Kai for everything that he was. Nothing more. Nothing less. To Tyson it was just a game. A simple crush. A hot guy. There was no way his feelings could compare with Tala's.

And yet, Kai had chosen him. The annoying, superficial brat. He had chosen the one he had always loathed and despised over his childhood friend, with whom he had shared some of the most important moments of his life. He had dumped the one who understood him for the one who had never wanted to understand in the first place.

Why? Why did it have to end like that?

But the only answer he got was an endless stream of tears.

* * *

Wow, that took a lot less time than I had expected! o_O

Well, I'm in school right now, so I don't have time to write a lot here... I guess I'll just say that I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll update as soon as I can after **5 reviews**. I've actually started on the next chapter already, so I don't think it will take as much time as I first expected.

Bye, everyone! See you in the next chapter :'D


	13. You're an idiot

Hilary was sitting on the floor, staring emptily into the air in front of her. Tears were running uncontrollable down her pale face.

"Why?" she whispered. "Why would you do this to me? You said that you liked me… I thought you had given up on him… But… you were lying to me… fooling me… you were just playing with me all along!"

"I'm sorry," Tyson said quietly. He didn't look one last bit sorry.

"I hate you," Hilary said hoarsely. "I hate you, hate you, hate you!" She would have continued yelling, but was stopped by a sob. She noticed that her clothes were wet. She literally sitting in a puddle of her own tears. She had never thought it would be possible for anyone to cry that much.

"_Daikirai,"_ she mumbled, this one word in Japanese. It had become a habit of hers to speak English, when she was always surrounded by so many people who didn't speak her mother tongue. Even with Kai, Max, Ray, Tyson… everyone who knew Japanese, she still spoke in English. It wasn't only her, either. Most of them thought it was weird switching between the two languages when speaking to their friends. The usually only spoke Japanese in school and at work.

Now, however, her body acted on its own will, without counting on her mind to create words and sentences. Words were piling up, running over her lips in a long and frustrated scolding. She babbled away in this language that – even though she was surrounded by it every day – she thought she had forgotten.

"_Daikirai,"_ she finished. _I hate you._

Tyson stared at her for a long time. The look in his eyes was indefinable. But he didn't look like he was regretting what he had done. No, it was rather the opposite. If anything at all, he looked proud. Proud that he had been cheating on her with the one he said he had given up one. Proud that he had been using her. Proud of crushing her heart into so many pieces that she would never be able to put it back together again.

"You said you were falling in love with me," the girl on the floor said quietly.

She was answered by a laughter from Tyson. "I can't believe you actually believed that. I'm _gay_, Hilary. How hard is it to realize that I'll never fall in love with a girl?"

Hilary threw a chaste glance towards the bedroom door. Kai had locked himself in there and refused to let them in and talk to him after Tala came. She could hear the violent sobs and rasping breath clearly, like they were the only sounds existing in the world. Like everything else was just a distant memory.

A loud thump could be heard from there every once in the while. Kai was smashing his fists into the wall again. He did that a lot, when he was angry or sad.

Hilary didn't mind that he had barricaded himself in there. She wouldn't want to see her like this. She didn't want her to know what a jerk Tyson was. She couldn't let him find out about the 'relationship' she had had with the Japanese boy, because Kai would feel guilty. He would feel guilty when it wasn't his fault at all. It was all Tyson's fault. Everything.

"Get out," she said quietly, yet firmly. "Get out of here. I never want to see your face again. And don't you dare trying to come near Kai. He has enough problems as it is, without you coming and messing everything up even more."

"He's fine," Tyson snorted.

"No, he's not," Hilary hissed. "He's worse than ever. He's still devastated because of Tala, and now he's feeling guilty for making out with you too. He isn't even close to being over Tala yet, and he knows that Tala used to have feelings for him. He's feeling guilty because he didn't figure out his feelings before Tala had gotten over him, and that he hurt Tala by being ignorant. He'd have to tell Tala about how he felt sooner or later. Don't you realize how hard that's going to be for him when that damned Russian saw him making out with you?"

Somewhere along that speech, the tears stopped running down her cheeks. The sorrow faded away, and was replaced with anger. Rage. Fury. Partially because Tyson had deceived her. But mostly because of what he had done to Kai. Sure, her own feelings were important. But for someone to lay a hand on her friends; that was unforgiveable.

"Just get out of here," she muttered. Tyson gave her one last glance, before turning around. The sound from the door that slammed shut seemed unbearably loud.

The brunette wiped away the last traces of tears, before she went over to the bedroom door, knocking carefully. "Kai?" she said softly. "Kai, please let me in."

A short click from the lock, telling that the door had been unlocked. The door handle was pressed down, and a boy with a tear-stained face was standing in the doorway. "It's all my fault," he mumbled.

Hilary shook her head. "No. It's not your fault Kai. The one to be blamed is Tyson. And Tala. And everyone else who ever did anything to hurt you."

"I was the one who let him do it, though." It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was talking about the make out-session with Tyson.

"He talked you into it, though, didn't he?" Hilary said softly, earning a slight nod from the male. "You can't be blamed, Kai. He should be ashamed of himself, taking advantage of you when you're in a state like this…"

"Tala looked hurt," the Russian muttered. "Why did he look hurt? He's in love with Bryan. Why would he care what I do…?"

"I don't know," Hilary sighed, pulling Kai into a tight hug. They stood like that for a long while, crying together.

---

The bar was crowded and noisy. Spencer was eyeing the dark-haired man from across the room. He glanced down at the picture he had gotten from Ray when he asked how the man looked. Or rather, threatened to beat the crap out of the Chinese if he didn't tell him.

There was no doubt. This man was Max's father.

He slowly made his way over to the Japanese. He couldn't let his anger get the better of him. He needed to stay in control for a few more moments.

"Excuse me? Are you Mr. Tate?" he said in the most innocent voice he could put up without sounding all faked. Surprisingly, even in his dark, rough voice, he sounded like any other "normal" person. Not threatening at all. He thanked fate that he was such an excellent actor.

Tate turned around. Spencer had to suppress a chuckle, thinking that up until recently, that was what he had called Max.

"Yes, I am," the older man replied. "And exactly who are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

Spencer cursed himself for not having a plan about this. But he wasn't going to back out now. He needed to do this. For himself. But most of all for Max. "My name is Spencer," he said casually, putting in a strong Russian accent. "I believe your son has told you about me."

The expression on Tate's face was priceless. Surprised, shocked, sad, furious, disgusted. This man was simply hilarious. "You're the one who's been poisoning my son's mind to think that he's gay," he said quietly, glaring at the Russian. This man didn't have any talent in glaring, though, that much was obvious.

Spencer laughed. "'Poisoning his mind'? What do you think I am? A parasite? Max discovered that he was gay completely on his own, trust me."

"You say that like you actually believe it."

"That's because I _do_ believe it," Spencer said firmly. "And the reason why I believe it is because it's _true._"

Tate didn't reply. He just stared mockingly at the young Russian.

"Now, listen to me," the blonde snarled, sticking a finger into Tate's chest. "I happen to love Max. And as for his feelings, I can't do anything but believe what he has told me. That he loves me too. Do you really think he would come with me to the other side of the planet if he didn't actually love me? If I had just been 'poisoning his mind' as you so neatly put it?" He paused, glaring at the dark-haired man. Tate was too terrified to say a word. Spencer smirked. Mission accomplished.

"Look," he continued, "if you were any other person, I would have killed you by now, for what you did to my boyfriend. But," he sighed, "you mean a lot to Max, and I promised him that I wouldn't seriously hurt you. However, if you ever do anything to hurt him again, I won't hold back. As much as I would hate to do that to him, he would be happier without you."

"I'm just trying to do what I think will make him happy," Tate snarled.

Spencer frowned. "Well, you're doing it the wrong way."

---

The door was torn open, then slammed shut. That was a bad sign. Tala usually opened and closed the door quietly. Something must have upset him.

Then, completely out of the blue, the redhead ran into the living room, throwing himself into Bryan's arms. His body was shaking from the violent sobs.

"Ssh, it's okay," Bryan whispered soothingly, stroking Tala's hair. "It's okay Tala, I'm here."

"I… he… he's with… Tyson…" Tala sniffed. "I s-saw them… together…" The redhead looked up at Bryan through half-closed, teary, red eyes. "Why… why is he doing this to me, Bryan?"

"I don't know, Tala," Bryan sighed. "I really don't know."

Tala's hands were grasping on Bryan's shirt, obviously terrified of letting go. "I really… love him… y'know… I'd do anything for him. So why? Why does he… why… why does he insist on hurting me?"

"He doesn't know that you're in love with him, Tal. Maybe if he did, things would be different. He might fall in love with you."

The redhead shook his head. "No… It doesn't matter. Tyson already won."

This sentence confused Bryan more than anything. "Tyson already won?" he questioned, frowning. "What's that supposed to mean?"

And so Tala started telling about the game; how they had started this to avoid ruining their friendship over it; how Max and Ray had found someone else and quit; and how Tala had realized that Tyson's intentions weren't close to being as nice as he had pretended.

"I couldn't tell Kai about my feelings. That was one of the rules," Tala mumbled.

Bryan frowned. "Let me get this straight," he said. "You turned your best friend into a prize in some game? I thought you cared more than that."

"I do!" was the reply. Tala was clearly uncomfortable with this. But at least he wasn't crying anymore. "I only agreed to it because if Kai and I actually ended up together, the others would never let it go. They'd never give up until one of them won."

Bryan shook his head, sighing heavily. "You're an idiot, you know," he muttered, hugging Tala tightly. "You really love him, right?"

Tala nodded. "Then do something about it! Now that Tyson has won, the game is over, right? So the rules don't mean anything anymore. Right?"

* * *

I'm so, so sorry for the late update! And it's such a short chapter too... And then there's the crappy ending... I'm really sorry guys, but I've been hopeless recently.

Anyway, I will update again as soon as possible. And I promise that the next chapter will be longer. Really. I swear. (Feel free to count words if you'd like). And of course, updating wil be a lot easier if you keep me motivated with your lovely reviews! For the first time in this story, I'm not going to threaten not to update if I don't get a certain number of reviews. I have finally realized that I don't want you to review because you feel like you have to, but because you want to! I'll also be eternally grateful if I do get any reviews.

Well, I suppose all that's left to say now is _SEE YOU IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!_


	14. Anything for you

Max was in the living room, switching randomly through the channels. The sky was darkening, and his had still hadn't come back. If Max wanted to, he could sneak out and spend the night at Spencer's place. He could stay there until the Russian went back home with his friends, and then his dad could say whatever he wanted.

Spending three whole weeks with Spencer… Now, that was an idea that he liked.

He turned the TV off and rushed into his bedroom, grabbing a few pairs of jeans and two T-shirts and throwing them carelessly into a backpack.

He dialed Spencer's number on his cell phone on his way out. The older male answered after exactly three seconds.

"Max?" He sounded worried. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

"I'm fine," Max muttered in reply as he half-walked, half-ran down the street. "I just… Is it okay if I crash at your place until you leave?"

Spencer chuckled. "Of course. When will you be here?"

"Ten minutes."

"I'll be waiting."

Max smiled as he hung up, and kept running. He ran faster and faster, as if he were afraid that Spencer would disappear if he didn't get there soon enough.

He showed up at Spencer's doorstep a few minutes later, completely out of breath.

Spencer was waiting for him inside. As he greeted Max with a hug and a soft kiss, his eyes were examining the shorter blonde. "What's your dad going to say?" he asked quietly.

Max frowned. "Fuck my dad," he snapped. "I want to spend as much time with you as possible." He leaned up to press his lips against the Russian's. "I won't let him ruin this, you know."

Spencer smiled, caressing the American's cheek. "Thank you," he whispered.

"For what?"

The Russian couldn't help but chuckling, looking lovingly at his boyfriend. "For being you." He leaned his chin on the top of Max's head, giving a content sigh. "I love you, Max. I know it's probably too early to tell you that, since we just started dating, and I shouldn't know if I really love you yet. But I've had crushes before, and this is nothing like them." He released the shorter blonde from the tight grip, staring deeply into the innocent blue eyes. "I really do love you."

Max felt his heart beating rapidly, a familiar heat building up in his cheeks. "I love you too, Spencer," he whispered. "I really, really do. Honestly."

"Max?" Spencer's voice was soft and gentle. So far from anything anyone would ever expect.

"Yeah?"

"Turn off your cell phone," the Russian said quietly. "If your dad reports you missing, the police can trace it."

Max blushed. "Oh," he said plainly as he fumbled to get the phone out of his pocket. It gave a short beep as he turned it off.

"Now that that's taken care of," Spencer smirked, "we seem to be having an awful lot of free time on our hands."

Max didn't even have time to laugh before Spencer captured his lips in a fiery kiss. He pushed the younger male against the wall, trapping his lover. Not that Max had any plans of escaping. There was nowhere in the world he'd rather be. Spencer was the only one he would ever need.

The heat of the Russian's body. The friction as those hands travelled all over Max's body. The lovely scent of the taller male.

For some strange reason, Spencer smelled like books.

"You know that you're the most important person to me, right?" Spencer asked hours later. He was lying on the couch with Max on top of him.

Max nodded. "I do."

"And you know that I would do absolutely anything for you?"

"Yes," Max confirmed. "Why are you asking me this?"

The look on Spencer's face was indefinable. "Would you do the same for me?"

Max frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Would you do anything for me?" There was a glint of sadness in the Russian's eyes.

Max blinked a few times. "Of course!" he exclaimed. "I mean, what could possibly be more important to me than you are?"

"Well, then," Spencer said quietly, "would you come with me to Russia, even without your father's permission?"

The American bit his lip. "Of course I would," he muttered. "If I could. But how am I going to do that? I can't leave the country without his permission since I'm underage."

Spencer sat up, lifting Max so that the younger boy was now sitting in his lap. "If I find a way to get you unnoticed out of the country, will you do it?"

"I will." Max had to concentrate to keep his voice from shaking. What was he really agreeing to do? Spencer wouldn't lock him up in a suitcase and ship him off to Russia, would he?

"What are you going to do, then?" he asked jokingly. "Get me a fake identity?" Now that Max thought about it, that wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Spencer smiled. "Exactly."

"That's so typical you," Max mumbled, leaning against the Russian's chest. After a few minutes, he tilted his head upwards, his eyes locking with Spencer's. "I'd follow you to the end of the world. You don't have to be afraid of losing me."

"But I am," Spencer replied. "I don't want to let you out of my sight even for a second, because I'm terrified that someone else will steal you away from me."

Max smiled. He didn't want Spencer to think that he might lose him. But somehow, it was exactly that that made Max happy. Because more than anything, this was what proved that Spencer really cared about him.

Besides, wouldn't he be terrified himself, if Spencer left without him?

"Don't worry," he said. "If anyone as much as much as touches me, my boyfriend will kill them."

Spencer smiled. "You bet he will." He pressed his lips gently against Max's, pulling the younger male's body even closer to himself. Max moaned as Spencer deepened the kiss, one of his hands sliding under the American's T-shirt.

Shirts were disposed of. Hands travelled curiously over heated skin.

As Spencer was kissing, licking and biting on his neck, Max impatiently reached down and started to unzip the Russian's jeans. Spencer lifted his head to meet his lover's gaze, and when their eyes locked, Max froze. Spencer looked worried.

"Max…" The one word sounded pained. "Are you sure…"

Max breathed deeply. "It's okay," he smiled. "I want to."

"Are you absolutely sure? We can wait, if you're not ready…"

The blonde bit his lip, giving Spencer what he hoped was a reassuring glance. "I'm positive," he said. "I want you, Spencer. All of you. And I want it now." He finished unzipping Spencer's jeans, pushing them over the Russian's hips. Spencer skillfully moved out of them, starting to remove Max's clothing.

---

Tala watched as Bryan rang the doorbell to Hilary's apartment. He counted the seconds until the door was opened. Eight, exactly.

Why had Bryan arranged this? Who was he to decide that Tala and Kai should talk? Wasn't that their own choice?

On the other hand, the fair-haired Russian did have a point. Now would be a good time to tell Kai about his feelings.

Hilary looked tired. Not in an extreme way, like exhausted or as if she had been crying, just plain tired. But that was understandable. She probably didn't get too much sleep if she were still sleeping on the couch, with Kai occupying the bed. Never had much manners, that guy.

The brunette greeted Tala and Bryan, gave Tala an encouraging push in the direction of the couch that stood in a corner of the combined kitchen and living room, before disappearing out of the door with Bryan. Had that been part of the deal? That Kai and Tala had to be alone?

The dual-haired male was sitting on the couch. Tala walked over to him, unsure if he should sit down.

He rubbed his neck nervously. "Uh… hi," he mumbled. "Um… Sorry I left so soon the other day."

"Today," Kai corrected him plainly. "It was today."

"Oh." Tala looked down at his feet. "Well, I know you probably wonder why I ran off like that."

Kai nodded. "You're right. I do wonder. And I wouldn't mind getting an answer." He stared deeply into Tala's eyes, and the redhead felt himself panicking. Could he really tell Kai this? Was he really ready to let go of the secret?

He took a deep breath, looking down at his feet. "Well," he started, "there's something that I haven't told you. Something that has been going on for quite some time now. And… I didn't tell you because I was worried it might ruin our friendship." He looked up at Kai, and beneath the layers of cold indifference in the ruby eyes, Tala sensed fear. Fear for what the redhead was going to say, or fear for what would happen afterwards. Either way, Kai was scared of it. And if he was completely honest with himself, then so was Tala.

He swallowed, his eyes locking with Kai's. "The reason I reacted that way is because… well… I like you."

Kai's lips parted slightly, his eyes widening just a bit. Tala even thought he saw a hint of a smile, before the dual-haired teen shook his head, looking away from Tala's face. "That can't be."

Tala frowned. "What do you mean? You already know that I'm gay. And you're quite the hot guy, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I fell for you."

"No, I didn't mean it like that." Kai shook his head again. "I know that you used to like me. But, well…" He blushed slightly, crimson eyes fixed on his hands. "I came over to your place this once, and I locked myself in. I heard you talking to Bryan." He looked up, his gaze meeting Tala's. His eyes were filled with pain. "I heard you say you loved him. So it can't be. You can't still like me."

Tala was unable to suppress a small chuckle. "Yeah. I do love Bryan." He smiled shyly. "But as a brother, nothing more." He felt a wave of relief wash through him, before another frown found its way to his forehead. "But why do you even care? I mean, aren't you dating Tyson?"

"Well…" Kai's cheeks had a rosy color to them by now. "No. I can't stand that brat. But he offered to be sort of a physical replacement for the person I like, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to try it just once."

"Who is this person, then?" Tala asked curiously.

Kai blushed deeper, but kept holding Tala's gaze. "That's the reason why I was so upset when I thought you were going out with Bryan. I – kind of – like you."

Tala's jaw dropped. "For real?"

"Yeah." Kai smiled slightly. "Took me quite some time and a little help to figure it out, though."

"So…" Tala shifted awkwardly. "Should we… kind of… go out or something?"

Kai rubbed his neck uneasily. "I don't know. The whole dating thing is kind of new to me," he admitted.

Tala smiled, sitting down next to Kai. "We can work out the details later," he murmured, leaning closer to the younger male. "For now, just do what feels natural."

"And if what feels natural is to kiss you?" Kai said questioningly.

The redhead smiled sincerely. "Then kiss me," he said plainly. And that was all he had the time to say before his lips were captured by Kai's, rubbing against each other in a needy kiss.

* * *

Okay, I know I promised this chapter was going to be longer... And it is! About forty words more, I think xD I was actually planning on adding some stuff with Bryan and Hilary, but the chapter ended so cutely with the Kai/Tala thing...

Anyway, please review, and I'll update again as soon as humanly possible! And with Easter break coming up, that probably won't be too hard.


	15. Broken Heart

Kai spent the night in Tala's apartment. Needless to say, in the same bed as the redhead. The feeling of the pale, smooth skin against his own could easily beat any drug.

Bryan had stayed with Hilary for the night. Hopefully, he would sleep on the couch, letting the poor girl have her bed back.

Kai looked at the sleeping redhead, smiling to himself. Tala really was beautiful. It was too good to be true, that this amazing boy was all his…

The dual-haired teen sighed, kissing the top of Tala's head before getting out of bed. He decided to put on some of Tala's clothes, since he had been wearing his own for several days now. To put it lightly, they had been cleaner.

He found a pair of black army pants (why did Tala even own such a thing?) and a black T-shirt, quickly slipping them on. Luckily, Tala's body type was quite similar to Kai's – only a little slimmer – so the clothes fit him perfectly.

Tala's curled up form shifted slightly, a yawn escaping pale lips before the beautiful redhead sat up, stretching his arms.

"Good morning," he murmured, his eyes sweeping over Kai's body. A smirk played on his lips. "Do you have any idea how sexy you are?"

Kai laughed, not able to keep himself from staring at his boyfriend. "No, I don't have the slightest clue." He smiled; a genuine smile, not at all like his occasional cocky smirks. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

Tala shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't matter. I wouldn't want to waste my time on sleeping without you here with me."

"I'm not leaving you, you know," Kai muttered, looking away from the redhead. "I'm not. I couldn't. You know that, right?"

The sound of Tala's laughter caught him off guard, forcing him to return his gaze to the older Russian. "I know," Tala spoke softly once he stopped laughing. "If you were going to leave, you wouldn't have told me you were in love with me." His aqua eyes pierced Kai's own. "I'm not that suspicious, Kai. I'd gladly believe whatever you told me."

Kai exhaled, out of sheer relief. "Thank god," he said quietly. "And you're right, I wouldn't have told someone I was in love with them if I were going to leave anyway. Besides, I could never love anyone else." He smirked slightly. "Heck, I was so angry when I thought you were in love with someone else. And to think that all this time, I was jealous of _myself_…" He laughed, glancing lovingly at his boyfriend. "I'm really too lucky, having you. You're more than I ever deserved."

Tala shrugged his shoulders, muscles tensing slightly under the pale skin as he did so. "I wouldn't say so. You've been completely out of my league all along."

Kai opened his mouth to reply, but shut it again really quickly. "Fuck, we sound like a couple of girls," he groaned. "Promise me that being gay won't turn me into a chick."

"I promise," Tala smiled. "Just because you've recently realized, doesn't mean you weren't gay before. And as far as I know, you weren't a chick before, either."

"I guess so," Kai smiled. "Anyway, I'm going over to Max's place. He should be happy to hear that we are finally an item." His smile turned into a smirk. "And I wouldn't mind hearing how things turned out with him and Spence."

"Okay." Tala smiled, staring lovingly at Kai. "Don't be away for too long. I might get jealous."

"I'll be back as soon as possible," Kai replied, turning to walk out the door. "Bye. I love you!" he called over his shoulder.

It was only a ten minute walk to Max's house, so Kai decided walk. He couldn't help but think about the last time he had left this building. When he ran into Tyson after seeing Tala and Bryan. Somehow, that moment seemed far away, like it had all been a dream.

He locked himself in, like Max always told him to do. As he walked up the stairs to the second floor, he called Max's name to let the blonde know he was there.

However, there was no reply. Kai frowned slightly, walking into the kitchen.

A very tired-looking Mr. Tate sat by the table.

"Mr. Tate?" Kai asked cautiously. "Um… are you alright?"

The older man looked up, trying to put on a polite smile when he saw Kai. But he failed. "Kai, I didn't hear you coming. Yes, I suppose I am fine. This is nothing that I can't deal with."

Kai nodded. "Do you by any chance know where Max is?"

"He probably ran away to be with that _boyfriend_ of his." Mr. Tate uttered the word 'boyfriend' with a slight hint of disgust. "I forbid him to see the guy, and now he has abandoned his own father to be with _him_." He laughed bitterly. "Stupidest thing I ever did, don't you think?"

"Honestly, sir, I don't really understand why you would forbid Max to see his boyfriend," Kai said calmly, though he felt a slight anger building up inside of him. Was this all just because Max was gay?

Mr. Tate sighed. "Partially because he is gay. I've never been a big fan of homosexuality, to put it like that. But that's something that I can get used to. Max is my son, and I wouldn't want him to be anyone else than who he is. And then, part of the reason is that he's only seventeen, and he wants to move to the other side of the planet because of a crush. It came as kind of a shock, to hear all those news at once. I overreacted, I guess."

"Um… I'm sure he'll forgive you, Mr. Tate," Kai mumbled awkwardly. "You're his father, after all." He took a short step back. "Anyway, I have somewhere to be. If you see Max, tell him I stopped by, will you?"

"I will," the dark-haired man said slowly.

Kai had run out the door before the older man even had the time to blink.

On his way back, he tried to call Max, but the blonde didn't pick up his phone. Then, Kai tried to call Spencer, who answered after about half a minute. He sounded tired and out of breath, and Kai tried to stop his mind from wondering what exactly Spencer and Max were doing at that exact moment.

He got to talk to Max, and explained how his father seemed to be really sorry for overreacting. And, even though Kai would usually have no sympathy – or even mercy, for that sake – for homophobes, he soon found himself begging Max to give Mr. Tate another chance.

_I'm going soft, aren't I?_ he thought to himself as he hung up. Strangely enough, he didn't mind having softened up a bit. Seeing Tala with Bryan – believing that the person he loved was in love with another guy – had made him realize that it wouldn't hurt to let people into his life. Rather than that, it was shutting people out that would result in him getting hurt.

Tala was waiting for him back in the apartment. They greeted each other with a kiss, and then they hung out, played video games and talked, just like they had always done. In some way, nothing had changed from the way they were before. And yet, everything was so different. Mainly because now, for what might be the first time in his life, Kai was happy.

* * *

Max's dad sat in one of the chairs in the living room. Max sat on the couch, next to Spencer, holding his boyfriend's hand in a tight grip.

He couldn't believe Kai had talked him into doing this. Talking to his dad was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment.

"Max, Spencer…" The dark-haired man shifted uncomfortably in the chair. "I want to apologize to you both. I was selfish, I overreacted, and you both have all the reason in the world to hate me."

"Damn right, we do," Max muttered, glaring at his father. Spencer kicked him lightly in the leg as a warning. Max had promised to play nice. Right. Spencer had been the one wanting to kill the man. But now Max wasn't allowed to be a stubborn bastard?

"I realize that it was wrong of me to try to keep you away from Spencer," Mr. Tate continued, looking directly at Max. "I guess neither you nor I can be sure if you really love him or not, but that's something you two will have to figure out on your own. And as much as it hurts me, I suppose that means that I'll have to let you go."

"What makes you think I'll forgive you?" Max said angrily.

Spencer sighed. "Max…"

"Don't get into this, Spence," Max cut him off gently, looking up at his boyfriend. He turned his gaze back to his father, still glaring. "As you said earlier, I have every right in the world to hate you. You wanted to keep me away from the person I love, you wanted me to defy everything that I am, and you're asking for forgiveness? When I told you that I wanted to be closer to my boyfriend, you, of all people – my own father – were unable to do anything else than act like a stupid, narrow-minded homophobe! And you want me to forgive you?" Max's body shook from the rage he felt. "Even though I knew that my news wouldn't be happily accepted, I _hoped_ that my own dad would have the brains to accept me for who I am, rather than yelling at me and sending me to my room. And I should forgive you? Let me tell you this, there is no fucking way in the dead, burning graveyard that is Hell, that I'll forgive you!"

Both his father and Spencer seemed shocked at his choice of words. Max had always been seen as the little innocent boy who never did anything wrong.

"Yes… I suppose you're right," Max's father said quietly. "Just know that I'm sorry, okay? I also want you to know that you have my permission to do anything you want, and go anywhere you want."

"I would expect nothing less." Max stood up. "If that's all, Spencer and I will be going." He turned to leave, still holding Spencer's hand, and his Russian lover gladly followed. However, Max stopped in the doorway, turning back. "I'm sorry, dad. But I'm far too angry with you to honestly forgive you at the moment. If I told you that you were forgiven, it would be a lie. And I don't lie."

Mr. Tate sighed. "I deserve this, don't I?" He shook his head, laughing bitterly. "I'm going to miss you, Max."

"I'm going to miss you too… dad," Max mumbled, suddenly feeling tears welling up in his eyes. He wanted so badly to cry and tell his father that he forgave him. But as he had just said, it wouldn't be true. And lying wouldn't help anyone in this situation.

The two blondes walked back to Spencer's flat in silence, still hand in hand.

"You can cry now, if you want," Spencer whispered gently once the door was closed behind them.

And Max did. He stumbled forwards to lean against Spencer's chest while traitorous drops of salt water rolled down his cheeks, dripping from his chin and nose. He cried until there were no more tears left in his body, his hands clenching the fabric of Spencer's shirt. He was unable to calm down until he felt those arms protectively around his waist, those lips kissing the top of his head gently.

* * *

**A/n: **Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! This took me way too long ._. I actually intended to upload this chapter sooner, because I had the entire thing planned in my head, and I knew exactly how to write it. But my mom forbid me to even touch the computer for fourteen days, because I somehow managed to stretch something in my arm while playing the piano. I really don't have a clue how I managed to do that, though. But it hurts like hell! Anyway, I'm pretending that my arm is better to get my laptop back, and I've been drugging myself on painkillers to get you this chapter. So you better be grateful, you trolls, for getting an update at all before July!

I kind of like the end to this chapter, actually. It's cute. -Freaks out of cute gay guys crying- Oh, and by the way, I baked Max and Spencer cupcakes today, to celebrate that this chapter was nearly finished. So review, and I'll give you one! Or two, if you, like me, are unable to choose between Max and Spence! ...well, at least you can pretend I give you one. It's the thought that counts, right? :D


	16. Cuz I can

**A/n:** I am so, so, so, so, so very sorry for the absolutely horribly very much too delayed update. I've officially put this story on hold for the moment, but I had half of the chapter on my computer, so I decided to finish it, and when I finished it... Why not upload it? Anyway, I'm sorry. Really. And you know, I might decide to put the next chapter up kinda soon, too. Because this is kind of a cliffhanger. And I'm sorry about that, but once I had written the last sentence... It just fitted so well as a ending to the chapter. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy, please review, all that stuff, and I'll see you in the next chapter. Which it hopefully won't take me a year to write.

* * *

"You've gotta get out of bed, Kai!"

Kai turned over to the side, mumbling something inaudible to himself. Being half-asleep, he was blissfully unaware of the rage that Tala was in.

"Hiwatari! You better get your sorry ass out of my bed this fucking instant, or I swear to the God that doesn't exist, I'll fucking kill you, slowly and painfully!"

Kai opened his eyes slightly, blinking a few times. The light seeping in through the window hurt his eyes, and all he could see was the silhouette of the furious Tala that was standing over him. "What the fuck, Tala?" he muttered, raising a hand to rub his still sleepy eyes. "Why are you freaking out like this? If you want my company, you can very well join me in bed." He smirked, knowing how Tala would blush at that comment.

"This isn't about your company, you spoiled, thick-headed brat!" Tala growled. "Now get out of bed! I don't have all fucking day!"

"Jeez," Kai slurred as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head off-mindedly. "What's gotten into you, Tala?"

The beautiful redhead shook his head angrily, red bangs dancing around his angelic – yet demonic – face. "What's gotten into me? It's two pm, we've got to have this place cleaned out and have our asses over at that party your annoying friends wanted to throw in two hours!"

Shit. Had he really slept in that late? No wonder Tala was pissed.

This was going to be their last day in Japan, and Hilary had insisted on throwing them a party to say goodbye or whatever. Their flight left at five am the following morning, and they had wanted as much time as possible to get drunk (and recover from being drunk) before that, so someone – someone very annoying, Kai was sure – had decided that they should start partying at four.

"Relax, Tal," Kai said calmly, kissing his boyfriend's cheek as he got up. "We have plenty of time. It's not a big deal, right? All we have to do is throw clothes into suitcases and take out the trash. We'll be there on time."

Somehow, after ten minutes, Kai managed to calm Tala down. The redhead was stressed; when he was stressed, he got angry, and when he was angry, he was most likely to go out on a killing spree if no one stopped him (which wasn't a safe thing to do, unless you were Kai, Bryan or Spencer).

They started packing their suitcases immediately, to keep Tala from getting more stressed. Kai only barely focused on what he was doing: he was too busy watching Tala. The two of them had been officially dating for almost two weeks now. It was Tala who had convinced Kai to come back to Russia, after he had decided to stay in Japan because of an interesting job offer.

He supposed things were going to be different, though, when they went back to Russia. Firstly, Kai and Tala were dating. So their relationship, how they worked together in an everyday life, had already changed, and majorly so. Secondly, Spencer was going to bring Max, his own boyfriend, back home. And Bryan would probably feel left out without a boyfriend (or girlfriend – Kai wasn't all sure about Bryan's sexuality) of his own. Hopefully, though, life in general would still be the same as before. Kai didn't want anything to change. Though maybe not happy, he had been content with the way his life was before. Being in a relationship with Tala was absolutely a bonus to that, but Kai could only hope that all the clichéd drama they had gone through wouldn't make things… awkward.

They had stuffed all their things into their suitcases, cleaned the entire apartment, and were at Kenny's house, where the party was supposed to be held, by quarter to four.

"Hi, guys!" the little guy said cheerfully as he opened the door, letting them both in. "You can bring the suitcases upstairs. I got a room ready for you, in case you want to get a little sleep before you leave tomorrow morning."

Kai tried to smile, but it turned out pretty awkward. "Sure. Thanks, chief." As Kenny showed them the way to their room, and as they walked downstairs to the living room afterwards, Kai caught himself wondering how Kenny could afford having a big, fancy house like that all of his own. Being a computer specialist probably paid well.

Max and Spencer were in the living room. Spencer nodded briefly at Tala and Kai, while Max smiled cheerfully.

"Hey," Kai said tonelessly, dumping down in the couch across from the two blondes. "Still not talking to your dad, Max?"

The American's smile faded as he shook his head.

Tala laughed. "The bastard deserves it, Kai. Stop worrying, you're going to get as soft as a marshmallow if you don't get yourself together."

"Would you really prefer an emotionless bastard who doesn't give a fuck about anything over a softie who's madly in love with you?" Kai raised an eyebrow, and Tala's face turned slightly pink.

"I fell in love with that emotionless bastard, didn't I?" he retaliated, smirking slightly.

Spencer rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you could keep that up for hours, but then I would probably have to knock you both out for annoying the hell out of me. Please, just shut up, the both of you."

Kai smirked, but did as Spencer told him to, and kept his mouth shut. Though it could seem like Tala was the 'leader' of the Russians, they all knew it was Spencer who called the shots. No one went against Spencer, or they would have a shitload of ass-kicking to get through the next weeks.

"I do agree with Kai, though," Tala said dully. "You should be glad you have a father, Maxie."

Max raised an eyebrow. "A father that acts like a homophobic bastard?"

"A father that loves you." Tala stared emptily at the young blonde. "Take Kai, for instance. His only living relative is his grandfather, who used him as a tool to gain world dominance." Kai rolled his eyes dramatically, making Tala's lips twist into a slight smirk. "And I, personally, was sold to the abbey by my father, so he could afford more cigarettes and alcohol. Your dad seems pretty nice in comparison."

"But you still think he deserves being shut out of my life."

"Yeah." Tala nodded briefly. "He made a mistake, but mistakes have consequences. Life's a bitch, the bastard should know that."

"His reasoning doesn't make sense," Spencer said tonelessly to Max. "You better get used to it. You're better off ignoring him."

Kai snickered at this, earning himself a poke in the ribs by Tala.

"Be careful what you laugh about, Hiwatari," the redhead warned with a glare. "I might just find myself someone else and leave you here in Japan to rot."

"Hn. As if." Kai grinned, poking Tala's forehead in return. "You care far too much about me to do that… softie."

* * *

Hilary was pacing around the apartment, muttering something about being late every five seconds. Bryan sat on the couch, watching her with an amused smile on his lips.

"Bryan!" the brunette exclaimed, once more trying to pull him up from the couch. To no avail. "We need to go, Bryan! We're already late!"

Bryan just laughed, pulling the Japanese girl down to sit in his lap. "Doesn't matter. They won't mind if we're late. I want to spend a little more time with you before I lose you to your annoying friends."

"One of my annoying friends happens to be Spencer's boyfriend," she reminded him sternly, to which Bryan shrugged.

"Maxie is okay," he said, snickering. "I'm talking about Ray and Brooklyn and that horrible Ming-Ming. They drive me nuts."

Hilary raised an eyebrow, never giving up her attempt to fight herself out of Bryan's arms. "Ming-Ming isn't my friend," she said coldly to a laughing Bryan. "And what the hell is so funny?"

"You are." Bryan grinned, pulling the brunette closer to himself. "Why are you still trying to fight your way out of this? Face it, Tachibana, you like me. I don't see why you're denying it."

Hilary huffed, crossing her arms and giving up the fight for a short moment. "Because you're gay."

"Did I ever say I was?" It was Bryan's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"You dated Spencer. It's kind of obvious."

"Right." Bryan grinned, tightening his grip around Hilary's waist even more. "Because I dated _one_ guy, I must be gay. Definitely. Just because I dated Spencer years back, that means I have no interest in girls whatsoever. You're absolutely right."

Hilary huffed, scowling at Bryan. "I know, I know. I shouldn't jump to conclusions, there are always more to things than it seems, blah blah blah." She did a last push at the arms that were securely wrapped around her waist. "But seriously, Bryan. You _are_ gay, aren't you?"

"I thought I was," Bryan admitted, pressing his lips softly against the skin on Hilary's neck. "I really did think so, you know, back when I was with Spencer. But that was only because I had never known what it felt like to be in love. I wasn't in love with him, and I don't think I could ever be. I don't find guys attracting at all. I thought I liked him because… well, we're a lot closer than most friends. It was different with him than with Tala, because Tala and I used to fight a lot. And when Spencer told me he was in love with me, I didn't mind. I liked holding hands with him, I liked kissing him, I liked being introduced to people as his boyfriend. Back then, it was just… Tala was my brother, and Spencer was my boyfriend. That was reality for me. I broke my own heart as well as Spence's when I realized I wasn't gay, because I really liked being with him. But I didn't love him the way I'd love a girl."

"So…" Hilary twisted in his arms, and Bryan loosened his grip a bit, ready to grip her tightly again if she tried to escape. To his surprise, though, she stayed in his lap. "You're not gay?"

Bryan allowed himself to smile a bit. "I'm not gay."

"And you seem to be going through an awful lot of trouble to get that through to me, even though you obviously don't mind that everyone else thinks you're gay. Why is that?"

Bryan's smile widened just a little as he brought a hand up to Hilary's face, turning it towards him. "Because I like you. Because I know that you like me too. And because I want to be your boyfriend."

Hilary shook her head. "You're insane, boy. We live in different countries. We only see each other once every year. It would be impossible."

"It could be possible. If you came with me."

"My job is here, Bryan. And I'm still in school. I can't just move out and go to Russia with you."

"Max is going." Bryan's cheek was resting on Hilary's shoulder now. He silently cursed her for being so stubborn. It was hard enough to tell her that he liked her. If he was going to keep this up, his image would be ruined.

Hilary smiled softly. "Max is insane," she pointed out. "And he's madly in love. I may like you, but it will take time to find out if it'll grow into something stronger. It will take time to find out if it's love."

"Come visit me, at least." Bryan tried his best to make it seem like a demand. He was losing more of his dignity by the second.

"That depends." Hilary smiled. "How's Christmas in Russia?"

Bryan grinned. "It's snowy."

"Then I'll be there. But now we have to go."

"And after you finish school?"

Hilary laughed gently, running a hand through Bryan's short hair. "We'll talk about that next summer," she told him as she freed herself from his arms, standing up. "Come on, Bry. I bet the others are completely wasted already, we're going to miss out on all the fun!"

Snickering, Bryan got up from the couch and followed her to the door.

* * *

Several hours later, Kai was too drunk to care that he didn't like most of the people in the room with him. Max was okay. He didn't mind having Hilary around, either. And Tala, Spencer and Bryan… well, of course he liked being around them. But most of the other people… Ming-Ming was there; the little girl with the annoyingly bright hair. Brooklyn and Garland were there. And Ray always showed up whenever there was a party, this time accompanied by the fourth former BEGA member, Mystel.

Bryan and Hilary had shown up more than an hour late, but no one really cared. Everyone was dancing and drinking and talking, and just having a good time.

Kai sat on the couch with an arm around Tala, who seemed to have passed out on his shoulder. Spencer sat on the couch across from them (or lay – Kai wasn't sure if he was still conscious) with Max on his lap, and the little blonde was talking to Hilary, who sat next to them. Kai vaguely wondered if Bryan shouldn't be there (apparently, he and Hilary had a thing going), but he was probably off somewhere kicking someone's asses in a drinking contest. No one could hold more liquor than Bryan.

Tala's head rolled off his shoulder, and the redhead woke up with a slight jump. Kai snickered at him. "Morning."

"Ha ha." Tala rolled his eyes. "I need a drink."

"I think you need some sleep."

"Luckily, no one cares what you think, pretty-boy." Tala stood up, dragging Kai off the couch with him. "And besides, why aren't you drunk?"

Kai laughed. "Believe me, I'm drunk. I don't hate everyone."

"You're not drunk enough." Tala proceeded to drag Kai through the herd of people by the wrist, heading for the kitchen. There, he started rummaging through the cupboards. "Ahah!" he exclaimed when he finally seemed to have found what he was looking for. He held out a bottle of vodka to Kai. "I knew Bryan had something hid away somewhere. Here, drink."

Kai frowned as he took the bottle from Tala. "Bryan is going to kill someone when he finds out someone stole his hidden stash of vodka."

"I doubt he's sober enough to remember he had one. Besides, there's another bottle in there."

Sighing, Kai raised the bottle to his lips and drank deeply. He felt slightly more woozy when he handed it to Tala, who also took a sip from it.

"Really," he said, "what's the obsession with getting me drunk?"

Tala shrugged, swallowing another mouthful of vodka. "Nothing, really. But if I'm going to have a hangover at the plane tomorrow, then so are you." He offered the bottle to Kai, who took it and took another sip from it.

"Hn."

"Great talking to you, too." Tala grinned. Kai (even though he tried his hardest not to) smiled. Tala was one of the only ones who wasn't intimidated by his attitude. When he sobered up, Kai would deny that was one of the reasons he liked Tala so much. Nothing scared him, not even Kai.

After a while of wordless drinking, Hilary's head popped in through the door. Her eyes were quite dazed, and her lips were pressed together, as if she feared that her stomach might decide to empty itself on the floor if she opened her mouth.

"Do you know where Bryan is?" she finally slurred, before finally closing her mouth again. Kai smirked. Hilary was normally so uptight… Who'd have thought she'd get even more drunk than him, who was very proud of how wasted he could get before passing out. When both of the boys shook their heads, she continued, "Could you help me find him? Y'know, just wanna make sure he hasn't passed out in the middle of the road and been run over by a dozen cars…" She suddenly held a hand up over her mouth and ran out of the room. Not long after, they heard the sound of gagging from outside.

Tala laughed loudly. "Someone should really teach these Japanese people how to drink." He took another sip of vodka.

"Yeah," Kai mumbled in agreement. He reached for the bottle, which Tala happily handed to him. "Should we go and find Bryan? Hilary might have a point, we have no idea where he could be right now."

"We probably should." Tala smiled wearily, and they were about to go out and look for Bryan, bottle of vodka forgotten on the table, when they saw Tyson standing in the doorway.

Kai frowned. "How long have you been there? I didn't know you were at the party."

"I just got here," Tyson replied calmly, obviously very sober. "I need to talk to you, Kai."

Tala looked between the two. The expression on his face said that he wasn't very happy about leaving Kai alone with Tyson, but…

"You can manage him, can't you, Kai? I still have to go and make sure Bry isn't dead."

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Kai mumbled, watching Tala as he left, before he directed his best drunken glare at Tyson. "What do you want?"

"I have to talk to you," Tyson repeated. "About Tala."

Kai snorted. "Tala and I are very happy, thank you very much. But not thanks to you, Granger."

Tyson raised an eyebrow. "Tala might not be as much into as you think, _Hiwatari_."

"Right. And I should believe you because…?" He glared harder, his lips pulling slightly back in what could resemble a sneer. "You haven't been my best friend lately, have you?"

Tyson raised his hands up, taking half a step backwards. "Hey, no need to be so hostile. I'm just trying to protect you."

"I can do that on my own, you know."

"Tala hasn't told you about our little game, has he?"

Kai's patience was wearing thin. Not only was Tyson the last person he wanted to talk to, but nothing he said made any sense whatsoever. Kai didn't like it when people kept hinting to him about things that he didn't have a clue about, and expected him to guess it right on the first try. He didn't like talking in general, there was no reason to drag it out. "What game?" he finally asked, his fingers wanting to curl into the palms of his hands and clench up into fists, but he kept them relaxed by his sides. There would be plenty of time to punch Tyson later… right now, he just wanted to know what the hell they were really talking about.

"The game Tala made for us to play; him, me, Max and Ray. A game where you were the prize."

"You're still not making any sense."

Tyson sighed melodramatically. "We all liked you, and we all wanted to be with you, so he turned it into a game, with rules and levels and everything. And the one who got you would win. He said it was to avoid ruining our friendship, but I don't think that's the case. I think he just wanted to keep an eye on the rest of us while he was persuading you to go back to Russia with him, where he'd have you all to himself." He shook his head, as if the whole thing disgusted him. "We didn't want to be a part of it, any of us, but Tala can be really persuasive when he wants to. And we were afraid that if one of us _did_ manage to win your heart, he'd try and sabotage it. He just likes the chase, Kai. He won't stick around for long."

Kai wasn't sure what to believe. His sense of logic told him that Tyson was lying. Of course he was lying. Everyone had known that Tala liked him. Hilary had known, Bryan had known, even Max had known, and he was supposedly a part of Tyson's game. However, in his drunken and very much more emotional state, logic had a hard time keeping back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. He reached for the bottle of vodka and drank a mouthful of the clear liquid. Then he punched Tyson in the face.


	17. Drunk

Kai walked swiftly past Tyson, who stood by the door with a shocked expression and a hand pressed over his eye, where Kai had punched him. Bottle of vodka in hand, he took small sips from it as he walked, heading out of the house.

Outside, he found Hilary throwing up on the lawn, Brooklyn and Ming-Ming making out by the wall, and Bryan, Tala and a few others that he didn't recognize sitting by the road. Driven by rage, he approached them, and upon coming closer, he managed to identify the three darkened silhouettes as Mariah, Max and Rick.

When he walked up to them, Tala stood up to greet him. Kai drank another mouthful of vodka as the redhead grinned. "Kai. Hey, I, uh, I found Bryan." He reached out his arms as if to embrace the other male.

Then Kai punched him, too. Not as hard as he'd punched Tyson, not by far, and far from as hard as he was able to. He thought he'd gone pretty easy on Tyson, especially considering the Japanese really annoyed the shit out of him. But he was angry, nevertheless, and that cheek that a shocked Tala was holding up a hand to, touching it carefully, was going to turn into a really nice bruise.

"What the fuck?" he said, but without the usual edge in his voice. He sounded out of breath. "What the hell was that for?"

"Tyson told me about your little game," Kai said dully, watching Tala's expression turn from shock to fear. "Maybe you'd like to tell me what the hell you were thinking?"

"What…" Tala shook his head, looking at the four people on the ground who stared expectantly at them. He grabbed Kai's wrist before the younger male had the chance to complain and pulled him along, away from the others. "What makes you think you can believe anything that kid says?"

"The look on your face when I told you is all the proof I need."

Tala opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, a look of resignation dominating the stubbornness in his blue eyes. "Look, Kai… I should have told you, I know, I just… I didn't want to hurt you, and… I don't know what the fuck was going through my mind, okay?"

"I knew you were a sick, twisted guy, Tala," Kai said, digging his nails into his palms to keep from screaming. He usually didn't bother to care too much about anything, really – not enough to cry over it or start yelling or punch someone, anyway – but _fuck¸_ he had never been so _angry_ before. Most of all, he was angry with himself for falling for Tala's game or whatever it was, but like hell he'd ever admit that. "I knew you were fucked-up and everything, but really, to come up with a screwed-up idea like that… that's sick, Tala. Really sick."

Tala raised his eyebrows. "_Come up with…_? I don't know what the fuck Tyson told you, but I am _not_ the one who came up with that stupid game, okay? If you don't believe me, ask Max or Ray. My guess would be that Tyson's jealous of us because he lost at his own game."

Kai was lost for words. "Wh…what?"

"The game was Tyson's idea." Tala grabbed Kai by the shoulders, staring intently into his eyes. "_Tyson_ made the rules, _Tyson_ introduced the game to the rest of us, and _Tyson_ is the one who forced me into it."

"Son of a bitch!" Kai had an overwhelming urge to punch Tyson again. "I'm going to kill him."

"Whoa, whoa." Tala held his hands up, as if he were the one Kai had said he'd kill. "Calm down, alright? I don't want you going to prison. Isn't in punishment enough that he's going to be alone and miserable his entire life?"

Kai snorted scornfully in reply.

Tala sighed, holding his arms out again, beckoning Kai closer. "Right. How about a hug?"

And then Kai punched him again. In the stomach this time, and not hard at all, but a punch was still a punch. The meaning behind it was more important than the amount of pain it caused. "Don't pretend everything's alright just because Granger is an asshole. I'm still mad at you."

"Oh, come on!" Tala looked frustrated. "If you're going to be angry, can't you wait until we're back in Moscow? At least I'll have you there, in the same country as me."

"And who said I'm not going back?"

Tala raised his eyebrows. "You said you're mad at me. I thought…"

"I won't always be mad at you. And I _want_ to go back to Russia. It's not all because of you, you know. I love that godforsaken place. Besides, why would I want to be in the same country – heck, even the same _continent_ – as Tyson Granger?"

"Right." Tala glanced back at the others, who seemed to have forgotten that they ever existed. "So… you'll forgive me?"

Kai gave the redhead one of his standard emotionless, non-caring expressions. "You'll have to work for it." He then made to turn around, glancing at Tala through the corner of his eye. "I'm going to bed."

Tala nodded. "Kenny got a room ready for us…" The last word lingered in the air between them for a moment, with a sort of strange emphasis on it, and Kai was quite sure he knew what Tala was going to say next. "Should I find somewhere else to sleep?"

"Do what you want."

Kai knew he sounded as cold and detached as always, but he couldn't help but smirk as he turned around, knowing exactly how clueless the expression on Tala's face was.

It took a while for him to fall asleep after he'd found the room with the double bed where Kenny had put his and Tala's bags. He was half-expecting to hear the door open, to feel the weight of another body on the bed and a couple of arms wrapping around him. Tala was the most persistent son of a bitch he had ever met. If Kai was completely honest with himself, he _hoped_ Tala would come up and sleep in the same bed as him. He hoped Tala would force Kai to forgive him. Because he sure as hell wasn't going to, if Tala ended up just tiptoeing around him all the time, afraid to say something that would hurt him or make him angry. Tala wasn't the only stubborn Russian in the world.

But Tala didn't come. And Kai just lay there, wondering what the hell was going through the redhead's mind, while he slowly fell asleep.

* * *

_Yay! Another update! And it's short, and the ending's crappy, but at least it's an update. Right? Right._


	18. Moscow

The word 'awkward' was nowhere near strong enough to describe the atmosphere between the five boys travelling back to Moscow. They all agreed that Tala had been an idiot, and that Kai was right to be angry with him. Spencer, Bryan and Max had all seemed surprised that Kai still wanted to go back with them, but pleasantly so.

Not a single word was uttered between them the entire trip. Not beyond what was strictly necessary, anyway. There was no small-talk. No joking around. No friendly teasing. No mentioning how much they were looking forward to going back to their beloved hometown in the north, even though they were all dying to get there.

Well, all of them except Max. Tala wasn't really sure how the little blonde felt about leaving, but he could only imagine that he was scared. Moving half-way across the world at the age of seventeen, just to be with his boyfriend. Giving up on his friends and family for a relationship that might or might not last. The boy had to be out of his mind.

When they got home to their flat, everyone went straight to their rooms. Kai and Tala exchanged a short glance before turning away from each other and walking into their rooms to unpack their bags.

It hurt so much. Tala knew he had been an idiot, and now he was paying the price for the mistakes he had made. But damn, why did it have to _hurt_ so fucking much? Why the hell couldn't he just shrug it off, walk into Kai's room, and _demand_ that the younger boy forgive him?

He hated the feeling of guilt that had made its home in his gut. Really, truly hated it. He wasn't used to feeling like this. He had been brought up to be cruel, merciless, without sympathy, empathy or guilt. But somehow, since the Abbey had been shut down and he'd been thrown out into the real world, he had started softening up. They all had, he knew that. And at times, he was glad. But other times, he wasn't sure if the change was for the better. Not when he felt like this, when he was feeling so bad that his stomach hurt, and his thoughts were churning around and around, telling him what he could have done to fix this, how he could have avoided it, how he _should_ have avoided it.

He sighed as he threw his bag down on the double bed. From the next room, he heard the low thumping sound of Kai slamming his fists into the wall. For some reason, the sound brought a smile to his face. If nothing else, when Kai acted like this, at least it meant he still cared.

Tala was going to have to work hard to earn his forgiveness, though.

After unpacking his things, he went to the kitchen to make some coffee. He was exhausted after the trip back, and didn't want to go to bed yet, so he figured some coffee would wake him up. As he poured himself a cup of the dark liquid, he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, heading for the balcony outside the living room.

He'd never been a heavy smoker, but it was a good stress-reliever sometimes. And right now, he seriously needed to get rid of some stress. He closed his eyes as he lit the cigarette, inhaling deeply.

"Got one for me, too?"

Tala didn't have to turn around to know that it was Kai. He held the pack of cigarettes and the lighter over his shoulders, moving it back to take his own cigarette from his mouth after Kai relieved him of them. "Didn't know you smoked," he commented dully.

"I don't," Kai replied, flicking the lighter to create a beautiful little flame in the dark night. But he inhaled the smoke far too easily for someone who didn't smoke.

"So," Tala mumbled as Kai exhaled a cloud of white smoke. "Is this when I tell you I'm sorry?"

Kai shrugged. "Probably. It's probably also when I tell you that a simple 'sorry', isn't going to make me forgive you."

"So what _is_? Roses and a romantic dinner? Poems and breakfast in bed? A love song written about you?"

The younger boy snorted. "I'm not a _girl_, Tala." The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, somewhat resembling what could have been the start of a smile. "The cigarette was a start, though."

Tala bit his lip. "So… Have we broken up? Or are we still together, just that you're mad at me?"

Kai just shrugged again. "Whatever," he said tonelessly, putting his half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray on the reeling. He then proceeded to walk back inside without as much as a glance as Tala. The redhead bit his teeth together and kicked into one of the chairs that stood out there. The guilt of remembering what he had done, the frustration of not knowing what do to _now_, and the sheer longing after holding Kai in his arms again were driving him crazy.

He finished his cup of coffee, still standing there with the cigarette in his hand. He held it up to his lips, inhaling deeply one last time, before putting it out and returning inside. It was getting late, and it was slightly chilly outside, now that the sun had abandoned them and left them with nothing but a black sky drizzled with stars.

He couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that night, not even in his sleep. He was wide awake in between restless dreams, all of them about Kai.

The next morning wasn't much better. He had a cup of coffee for breakfast, ignoring his rumbling stomach. Bryan had gone out grocery shopping, after they'd realized they had no food whatsoever in the kitchen after spending the summer in Japan. Spencer and Max were sitting on the couch and watching TV, kissing and cuddling like the lovey-dovey couple that they were.

Kai was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm going out," Tala stated dully as he stood in the hall, pulling his leather jacket on and quickly lacing up his boots. It wasn't really cold out, but it was definitely colder than in Japan.

Spencer turned his head, looking at the redhead through the doorway. "Where?"

Tala shrugged. "Just out. I need…" He paused. He didn't really know what he needed. Except Kai, of course. It was just driving him insane, sitting inside with nothing to do, only Spencer and Max to keep him company. "I just need some fresh air." He didn't wait for a reply before walking out the door.

His feet took him to the University.

Tala didn't really need to study. He didn't need a job. He (and all the kids from the Abbey) had been given a handsome sum of money when the government discovered what was really going on there. Just that alone was enough to keep him alive and well, with the latest fashion or newest technological gadgets or whatever he could possibly want, for the next thirty years. Not to mention, Kai was more than happy to share the fortune he'd gotten from his grandfather when the old bastard was sent to jail to rot for the rest of his life.

No, he didn't need to study. But he wanted to. He wanted something to keep his mind busy. Sitting around all day doing nothing got boring in the end. Kai was the only one of them that didn't get restless when he didn't have work or school. But then again, he would disappear at the strangest times. Who knew what he could be doing that they didn't know.

The school year hadn't started yet, but the University was always open. There were always professors or library workers or cleaning personnel or whatever around. As Tala opened the door to the library, he felt the smell of old books hit him, and he gratefully breathed it in. He'd enjoyed the summer, or course. But with their friends in Japan… There were always so many people. It was always so noisy. Tala wasn't really much of a people person, and this place… It was so quiet. So calm. He could sit for hours in solitude with his eyes glued to a book, without really reading.

He'd been sitting with a book on Psychology for at least half an hour when a voice pulled him out of the half-reading, half-sleeping state he'd been in.

"Fancy seeing you here."

Tala looked up to see a guy with short blonde hair and clear blue eyes, a bit taller than himself. His name was Mihael, Tala remembered. They had a couple of classes together, and they'd talked a few times. They'd had lunch to celebrate their grades past semester.

He wasn't really a friend, though. Tala didn't have friends. Not really. He had the guys – his family. And then he had the Beyblade people, that he occasionally hung out with. But the people from Uni were just people from Uni, no matter how one looked at it.

"Hey," he mumbled, not really caring to offer a smile. He wasn't in the mood to fake politeness at the moment.

"Ouch, you're grumpy," Mihael commented. "What happened, was Japan to cute and happy-go-lucky for you? Need to max up the grumpiness to block out the awful memories?"

Tala rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut it. I'm just in a bad mood."

"Fine, fine." Mihael smiled. He had quite a stunning smile, Tala had to admit. The girls were always swarming around him, dying to get his number or get him to ask them out. Tala wasn't going to pretend he didn't understand. Mihael was handsome. Moreover, he was _hot_. And that smile of his, Tala thought, could probably chase every worry in the world out of a girl's mind. Maybe even a boy's mind. But that would have to be one that was a hell of a lot less troubled than Tala's.

"So," Mihael continued, "remind me, why are you studying Psychology? You don't really strike me as the type to do that."

"I want to understand." Tala returned his eyes to the book without really reading. It was all stuff he'd read before, anyway. It was just calming to sit there with a book in his hands.

"Understand what, exactly?"

Tala couldn't help but smile slightly. "I want to understand _me_." Though he wasn't looking at the blonde, he could imagine the confused look on the other's face, and that drew out a smirk from him. No matter how soft he'd gotten, he still liked confusing people. He liked being a mystery.

"Okay…"

Tala managed to hold back a chuckle as he saw the frown on Mihael's face. "Anyway. I was just going, actually." He closed the book on the table and stood up to leave, when Mihael unexpectedly grabbed him by the wrist. Tala's instinct told him to go for the kill. But a murder would have been such a mess to have to clean up, so he just clenched his hands into fists, his nails digging into the palms of his hands.

"Sorry," the blonde said, smiling sheepishly. "I know you don't like being touched, but you would've just left without listening to me if I hadn't done that."

Tala raised an eyebrow. "Listen to what?"

As Mihael broke into a grin, Tala realized just how _young_ the guy was, even though they were the same age. Tala had been through a lot of shit. He'd grown up early. And this guy – like pretty much everyone else his age – was still a teenager. Still a child.

"I'm having a party," the blonde grinned, finally releasing Tala's wrist. "This weekend. Some of the people from Uni are coming. Not a lot of people, around fifteen or twenty or something. So, feel free to drop by if you want."

Tala smiled slightly as he rubbed his wrist. "Hard to say no to a good party."

Mihael nodded. "You can bring your friends, too, if you want to. The more the merrier."

"I'll think about it." Tala nodded in direction of the door. "But I really should be going now. I've got stuff to do."

Tala cursed inwardly as he walked out of the library, leaving the campus to go wandering around town. It wasn't that he didn't like Mihael. He was a nice kid, even though he was far more immature than Tala. It was just that he had gone to the library to be _alone_. He hadn't _wanted_ to talk to anyone.

Maybe he'd go to the party, though, and bring the guys with him. Maybe if he could get Kai drunk, it would be easier to get the bluenette to forgive him.

* * *

_Finally, another update! Well, the story is (officially) on hold for the time being, but this is for my wonderful fan and friend, Ailin, who agreed to walk out into the pouring rain to help me find a broom (which I needed for Quidditch practice), if I updated the story this weekend. So here you go, everyone!_

_I hope people are still reading this story, at least... Oh, and I hope you enjoyed! I will try my hardest to get the story back on track as soon as possible, so please don't give up on me!  
_


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